OPINION # M-655 HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.Honorable Alex Tandy County Attorney Parker County Weatherford, Texas 76086

Dear Mr. Tandy: 26 , 1970 Opinion NO.M-655 RE: Whether certainproposed traffic control signs violate Art. 6701(d), Sec. 36(a),Vernon's Civil Statutes. You have requested the opinion of this office as to the applicability of Article 67016, Section 36(a)* to the proposed erection of certain signs depicting a silhouette of a child bouncing aball and bearing a cautionary legend such as - "SLOW,Children" - or - "Children's Area" - and additionally bearing at the bottom thereof thename of a commercial sponsor. You have further indicated that such signs will otherwise conform to national highway standards and will be placed near public streets and roadspursuant to regulatory authorityof either the appropriate city council or commissioners court. Article 6701d, Section 36 reads as follows: 36 "(a) No person shall place, maintain, or display upon or in view of any highway any unauthorized sign, signal,marking, or device which purports tobe or is an imitation of or resembles an official traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal, or which attempts to direct the movement of traffic, or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official trafficcontrol device or any railroad sign or signal, and no person shallplace ormaintain nor shall anypublic authority permit upon any highway any traffic sign or signal bearing thereon any commercial advertising. This shall not be deemed toprohibit the erection ~-, upon private property adjacent to highways

l All references toArticles are to Vernon's Civil Statutes. -3137-1 ‘, . \...

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Honorable Alex Tandy, Page 2, (M-655 )

of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs. "(b) Every such prohibited sign, signal, or marking ishereby declared tobe apublic nuisance and the authority having jurisdiction over the highway ishereby empowered to remove the same or cause it tobe removedwithout notice.” Article 6674a, in its relevant portion,defines "highway" as follows:

"The term 'highway'
. . .shall include any public road or thoroughfare or section thereof
. . ." Article 6701d, Section 18(a)defines official TrafficControl Devices as follows:

"~11 signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistentwith this Act placedor erectedby authority of a public body or officialhaving jurisdiction, for thepurpose of regulating,warning, or guiding traffic." (emphasisadded). Although a search of "TexasManual on UniformTraffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways" Volume 1 (Signs, Markings, Barricades) published officially by theTexas Highway Department, Division of Maintenance Operations, Austin, Texas, does not reveal either of the described signs tobe an authorized traffic control device, the onlypurpose we can conceive for the erection andmaintenanceof the type sign under consideration is for "regulating,warning, or guiding traffic n (emphasisadded). Hencewe hold that same is a traffic controldevice as defined in Article 6701d, Section 18(a), supra. Since the firstportion of Section 36(a),supra, states, inter alia, "Noperson shall place, maintain, or display upon or in view of anyhighway any unauthorized sign
. . .which attempts to direct themovement of traffic
. . '", it is our opinion that the firm offering the described signs cannot install said signs except insofar as itmay draw authority from thepublic body having jurisdiction over such highway.
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And since the second portion of Section 36(a), supra, states, **inter** alia, I.

. . nor shall any public **authority** permit upon any highway any traffic sign
. . .bearing **thereon** any commercial advertising.', it is our opinion that neither a city council nor **a** commissioners court can authorize same. In this connectionyour attention is called toArticle 6701d, Section 26,which reads:

"Theprovisions of this**Act** shall be applicable and uniform throughout this state and in all political subdivisions andmunicipalities therein and no local authority shall enact or enforce anyordinance, rule,or regulation in conflictwith the provisions of thisAct unless expressly authorized herein.
. . .II Our research reveals no authorization forderogation from Article 6701d, Section 36(a)by local authorities. SUMMARY Neither traffic controlwarning signs,nor signs imitating or resembling traffic control signs, and bearing commercial advertising, may be erected upon or in view of public streets, roads or highways. Very,Zuly yours,

&i%AWFQ#D C. MARTIN Attorney General of Texas i Prepared by Howard M. Fender Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman

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Monroe Clayton Ray McGregor Gordon Casr Marvin Sante11 MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant ALFREDWALKER Executive Assistant NOLA WHITE First Assistant Attorney General

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