OPINION # M-655 HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN.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 certain proposed 

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 a ball and bearing a cautionary legend 

such as - "SLOW, Children" - or - "Children's Area" - and 

additionally bearing at the bottom thereof the name 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 roads pursuant 

to regulatory authority of 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 to be 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 shall place or maintain nor 

shall any public authority permit upon any 

highway any traffic sign or signal bearing 

thereon any commercial advertising. This 

shall not be deemed to prohibit the erection ~-, 

upon private property adjacent to highways 

l All references to Articles are to Vernon's Civil 

Statutes. 

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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 is hereby declared to be a public 

nuisance and the authority having jurisdiction over the highway is hereby 

empowered to remove the same or cause 

it to be removed without 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 inconsistent with this Act placed or 

erected by authority of a public body or 

official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding 

traffic." (emphasis added). 

Although a search of "Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic 

Control Devices for Streets and Highways" Volume 1 (Signs, 

Markings, Barricades) published officially by the Texas Highway Department, Division of Maintenance Operations, Austin, 

Texas, does not reveal either of the described signs to be 

an authorized traffic control device, the only purpose we 

can conceive for the erection and maintenance of the type 

sign under consideration is for "regulating, warning, or 

guiding traffic n (emphasis added). Hence we hold that same 

is a traffic control device as defined in Article 6701d, 

Section 18(a), supra. 

Since the first portion of Section 36(a), supra, states, 

inter alia, "No person shall place, maintain, or display upon 

or in view of any highway any unauthorized sign . . . which 

attempts to direct the movement of traffic . . '", it is our 

opinion that the firm offering the described signs cannot 

install said signs except insofar as it may draw authority 

from the public body having jurisdiction over such highway. 

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Honorable Alex Tandy, Page 3, (M- 655 1 

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 connection your attention is called 

to Article 6701d, Section 26, which reads: 

"The provisions of this Act shall be applicable and uniform throughout this state and 

in all political subdivisions and municipalities therein and no local authority shall 

enact or enforce any ordinance, rule, or 

regulation in conflict with the provisions 

of this Act unless expressly authorized 

herein. . . .II 

Our research reveals no authorization for derogation from 

Article 6701d, Section 36(a) by local authorities. 

SUMMARY 

Neither traffic control warning 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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Honorable Alex Tandy, Page 4, (M- 655 ) 

Monroe Clayton 

Ray McGregor 

Gordon Casr 

Marvin Sante11 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant Attorney General 

. 

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