Rationale for Roadside Memorial Regulations

1. Location
Roadside memorials will not be permitted in medians or on traffic islands and should not create a hazard or obstruction to pedestrians or motorists. These limitations will in effect limit the placement of roadside memorials to the boulevard area. Medians and traffic islands are often narrow, in close proximity to vehicular traffic and fully paved. As such, there is a concern about people erecting, visiting or maintaining roadside memorials being exposed to traffic and the ability to maintain elements of the memorial in place. Although there are medians and traffic islands within the City where there is sufficient room to safely accommodate a roadside memorial, it was felt that a total prohibition at these locations is not an unreasonable restriction since it reduces the probability of creating a roadside hazard and it is straightforward from a public understanding and an enforcement perspective. Regulating the location of the memorial, relative to the potential creation of a hazard or obstruction, gives the City the flexibility to deal with memorials that, by their composition and/or proximity to the roadway or the sidewalk, create a safety risk to the general public.

2. Construction and Composition
Roadside memorials will be limited in size to a cube of space one metre in each direction. The limitation on size is beneficial in terms of reducing the potential for creation of a sight line obstruction and in defining a maximum overall size of the memorial that may be of concern to any fronting property owner and the general public. Without controls on the size of the memorial, the potential exists for a roadside memorial that is a significant roadside hazard and/or results in a significant imposition to the fronting property owner and the general public. Use of objects that can shatter, such as vases or glasses will also be restricted for the safety of the public.

3. Installation
The name and telephone number of the person responsible for the memorial and the date of installation must be included on the memorial. This provides the City with a contact person if the roadside memorial needs to be removed or brought into compliance with the regulations. Inclusion of the date of installation assists the City in determining if the memorial has exceeded the approved time limit for roadside memorials. Other regulations that restrict roadside memorials from being attached to directional signs, traffic control devices or other government installed signs and supporting infrastructure (poles, posts, etc.) are necessary to protect the visibility of these signs to the travelling public. The need to protect trees and structures in the right-of-way from damage is self evident.

4. Maintenance
The City’s expectation is that the roadside memorial will be maintained in a reasonable condition while it is contained within the street right-of-way. Roadside memorials which fall into disrepair, are damaged, vandalized, disfigured or burned will be subject to removal by the City at any time.

5. Gatherings
There have been circumstances in the past where gatherings for memorial type services have occurred in the City and which have resulted in complaints from the public regarding parking and littering near the site. The City’s expectation is that participants in this type of gathering will conduct themselves in an orderly and peaceful manner, respecting the privacy of neighbouring residents and existing By-laws.

6. Time Limit
The Tay study asked the public to choose their preferred time limit for the display of roadside memorials. Of the 792 respondents to this question, 26.0% indicated no time limit, 24.9% indicated no time at all (i.e. memorial not permitted) and 49.1% indicated some form of time limit. Of the 49.1% who indicated some form of time limit, the two highest responses were for a one month limit (19.2%) and a one week time limit (11.5%). In an urban environment such as the City of Winnipeg, there is a relatively high probability that a roadside memorial will be located in close proximity to a residence or commercial property. Balancing the desires of the grieving with the views of neighbouring property owners is an important consideration in determining the need for a time limit and an appropriate length of time for that time limit. Another consideration is for maintenance activities that occur within the street right-of-way, specifically snow clearing and spring clean-up of boulevards. There is a six month window in which the potential exists for snow clearing equipment to inadvertently destroy a roadside memorial. In addition, in the spring there is a potential conflict between annual boulevard maintenance activities and the roadside memorial. In consideration of all of the above, a 90 day time limit is proposed for the placement of roadside memorials. The 90 day time limit would be measured from the date of the fatal collision.

7. Limitations
To effectively deal with issues surrounding roadside memorials, the City needs to have the ability to remove a memorial where circumstances such as construction ormaintenance activities require removal of the roadside memorial. In addition, the City must be able to remove memorials that do not follow the rules set out in the By-law. When circumstances permit, the City’s approach will be to notify the individual responsible for the memorial that the memorial has been, or will be, removed and provide the reasons for the removal.