Calgary bylaw enforcement said an inspection revealed thousands of illegal temporary signs litter city boulevards, and they’re hoping a new bylaw helps declutter them.

Amendments to the city’s Temporary Signs on Highways Bylaw were approved unanimously at Tuesday’s Regular Meeting of Council and with it a suite of enforcement modifications and increased penalties.

Moving forward, the City of Calgary’s Mobility business unit will handle the removal of problem signs through the course of regular boulevard maintenance. This is because they are there more frequently and often have the equipment and vehicle capacity to remove them.

Mobility officers can refer to Community Peace Officers in cases where violation tickets are warranted, particularly with multiple and repeat offenders. The City of Calgary is also piloting the use of technology – similar to automated parking enforcement – to track some of these problem signs.

Calgary’s Chief Bylaw Officer said they’re excited to see this program implemented.

“It’s a bit daunting right now and our peace officers go out to certain locations and they’re staring at hundreds of signs, and they have an SUV that they’re driving, where do they begin? Seeing those signs following up on tickets is very labour intensive. It’s cumbersome,” said Chief Bylaw Officer Ryan Pleckaitis.  

“I think with the service delivery improvements, you’ll see dramatic increases in the number of signs being removed and that allows us to focus on chronic repeat offenders who are consistently breaking the Temporary Signs on a Highway Bylaw.”

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said there’s been a spread of signs in various parts of the city and she believed these latest measures would help alleviate citizen concerns.

“I think the fact that the fines have gotten stronger, and the fact that there is a team that’s able to go out and remove the signs quickly, and there’s an option to take any election signs to a specific location so they can be recycled, those are all good moves,” she said.

Success will be measured by actual results, said Ward 5 councillor

Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal has referred to his area as Ward Sign, because of the proliferation of illegal signs on boulevards. He’s been working for some time to have it cleaned up. He told councillors he hoped for even quicker action, as a drive around other areas of Calgary showed him the problem is expanding to other wards.

He’s cautiously optimistic this plan will have an impact. But actions speak louder than words, he said.

“These are words to me until action, and they prove it by action,” he said.

“I want to see it firsthand, hopefully starting January 1, that this bylaw does have some good teeth in it to bite into some of irregularities or bylaw infringements.”

Dhaliwal said that success would be measured in residents in his area telling him they see the change. Plus, as a part of the approved motion on Tuesday, city bylaw and mobility will report back on improvements to sign clutter across Calgary.

City officials said that they would continue to education business owners and sign companies on the rules around proper sign placement on city roads. Dhaliwal said, however, that it’s time for enforcement. Many of the companies are repeat offenders despite knowing the city’s rules.

If more people get fines, word will spread and hopefully that will help with the problem, Dhaliwal said.

“Right now, it’s the tragedy of commons. Nobody’s going to come and slap us on the wrist. Let’s keep doing it, and one person sees signs and says why can’t I do it?

“Then all these people who are putting up, businesses making, putting up these signs, they’re making a fortune out of it without any consequences for them.

“If they see some fines coming there, we will definitely see a mindset change.”

The specified penalty for most of the infractions under the City of Calgary’s temporary sign bylaw has been increased to $300 with the changes. Repeat offenders could have fines doubled or tripled.

The bylaw would come into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.