Plymouth resident raises safety concerns over blocked sightlines at Jefferson and Indiana Street intersection

A Plymouth resident brought a traffic safety concern before the Plymouth City Council on Monday evening, warning that obstructed sightlines at the intersection of East Jefferson Street and Indiana Street could lead to a serious accident.

Eric Anderson appeared before the council after reaching out to Councilwoman Linda Starr and Councilman Randy Longanecker with his concerns. Anderson explained that at 440 East Jefferson Street, Farmers Mutual Insurance occupies the building on the southwest corner of the intersection and has a raised planter that occasionally holds temporary yard signs. Combined with a small restaurant building immediately to the west that extends further toward the street, drivers attempting to pull onto Jefferson Street from Indiana Street have significant difficulty seeing oncoming traffic from the west.

"It's an accident waiting to happen," Anderson told the council.

Longanecker said he personally visited the intersection in his half-ton pickup truck and experienced the same visibility problem firsthand. The councilman added that his visit prompted him to drive through his district that evening, where he observed numerous signs placed in the city's right-of-way — promoting businesses, garage sales, and other purposes — that he believes violate Plymouth's sign ordinance. Longanecker suggested the city take steps to better inform the public about the requirements for temporary signage.

Mayor Robert Listenberger said he was not fully familiar with the details of the city's sign ordinance and asked Plymouth Plan Director Ty Adley to review it, gain a thorough understanding of its current provisions, and determine whether any amendments might be needed.

Adley acknowledged the concern but urged the council to proceed carefully, noting that sign regulations touch on First Amendment issues that require thoughtful legal consideration — while still prioritizing public safety.

No formal action was taken on Monday, but the matter has been referred to the Plan Director for further review.

A copy of the city ordinance passed in 1997 is below:

§ 130.11TEMPORARY SIGNS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY BANNED.

(A) 

Any sign intended to convey commercial speech and placed in or upon the public right-of-way or upon utility poles located within the public right-of-way is declared a public nuisance and is therefore prohibited.

(B) 

All city employees, including appointed officials and elected officials, are hereby empowered and authorized to enforce this section by taking the following steps:

(1) 

The city official or the city employee is authorized to remove and confiscate any sign intended to convey commercial speech from the public right-of-way or from any utility pole located within the public right-of-way, as the case may be;

(2) 

The city employee or city official shall deliver, within a reasonable amount of time after confiscation, the sign to the Street Department Garage during regular business hours;

(3) 

Upon delivery to the Street Department Garage, that person shall then notify office personnel located at the Street Department Garage;

(4) 

The office personnel shall then make a reasonable effort to notify the owner of the confiscated sign by contacting them either through the United States mail, or by telephone if the telephone number is listed on said sign;

The office personnel shall notify the person or company listed on the sign that they have 10 days from the date of the notice to retrieve said sign, or the same shall be appropriately disposed of through recycling or otherwise;

(6) 

If a person, corporation, or other entity is found to have violated this section on 2 or more occasions, then the matter shall be referred to the office of the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall then seek an agreement with the offender that no more signs will be placed in the public right-of-way by the offender. If no such agreement can be reached, the City Attorney is authorized to seek injunctive relief in the Marshall Superior Court No. 2, and seek to have imposed a fine not to exceed $500 for each sign found and/or placed in the public right-of-way after notification of the violation of this section. In addition, the City Attorney in seeking judicial enforcement of this section, is authorized to seek recovery of reasonable attorney fees in accordance with Indiana law.

(1994 Code § 130.11; Ord. 97-1693, passed 5-27-1997)