I am writing to bring to…

I am writing to bring to your attention a gross unfairness that requires immediate action from your office. We have noticed so many different forms of illegal billboards and most recently the illegal trailers with third party advertisements have been placed along major highways that do not allow billboards.

These illegal billboards do not meet the set-back limits established by your own office. In the Corridor Signing Policy (March 2010) your office created standardizations to ensure public safety along our highways, which included a 1000-foot spacing requirements, minimum setback distances and engineering standards. These illegal trailers and the other illegal signs, especially on the four hundred series highways have ignored your own standardizations. These illegal billboards are both unsafe and unsightly.

As the owner of billboard company in Ontario, I have consistently complied with your permit rules: we meet your third party advertisement rules and we pay annual permit fees to your ministry. I am petitioning and pleading for your Ministry to stop the allowance of these trailers and illegal billboards and enforce the removal orders on illegal third party advertising. We pay our permit fees and follow the rules outlined by the MTO on signage and as such, I believe that any business profiting from signage must be held to the same rules, standards, and safety requirements.

You have not enforced the policies your own office created; an error that is greatly effecting my business. The illegal companies putting the trailers and billboards on highways are aggressively pursuing my customers. Many of our customers are actually considering these illegal companies because they are placed extremely close to highways that do not have billboards, like Highway 400. When our customers switch to the trailers and illegal sites, my businesses will be devastated and I will be forced to lay off Ontario citizens employed by my businesses.

If you have any questions or would like more information, Sara Dunkley can be reached at (647)-799-2090, or by email at sdunkley@stellaroutdoor.com.

[Original Comment ID: 195528]