Vermont § 490 - Types and arrangement of signs

§ 490. Types and arrangement of signs

• (a) The Travel Information Council shall regulate the size, shape, color, lighting, manner
  of display, and lettering of official business directional signs. Distinctive symbols
  shall be established to the extent considered practicable by the Council for each
  type of service or facility, different from those for other types; and appropriate
  signs shall be provided for each eligible applicant within a given category. When
  appropriate because of the number of signs at one location, the signs shall be replaced
  or substituted with an information plaza on which applicants may purchase advertising
  plaques. (b) Subject to traffic safety regulations specifically adopted by the Agency of Transportation
  for the purposes of this chapter, locations of official business directional signs
  shall conform to the following: (1) Official business directional signs shall be located in the same town as the applicant
  business unless one or more of the following conditions are present: (A) The location of the sign must be in a town other than that of the applicant business
  in order to satisfy the traffic safety regulations. In such case, the sign shall be
  located as close to the turnoff for the business as possible; (B) The business is located on an unnumbered highway, the turnoff from the numbered highway
  is in another town and this turnoff is the only access point for the business from
  the nearest numbered highway; (C) The absence of highway destination signs directing travelers to the town in which
  the business is located; and (D) The absence of an official business directional sign creates a safety hazard for the
  traveling public. (2) Official business directional signs shall be located in those vicinities where the
  traveler must change direction from one highway to another highway to reach the business
  or point of interest, provided the sign is not on the same highway as the business
  or its on-premises sign unless the sign is needed to alleviate a safety hazard or
  to eliminate an unsafe situation as described in this section; and provided a travel
  information directional sign is not located at that point and travel to that information
  source will cause neither undue inconvenience to the traveler nor traffic congestion.
  Signs may be approved on the same highway as the business, or its legal on-premises
  signing only when, in the opinion of the Travel Information Council or its district
  committees, the traveling public is placed in an unsafe situation without one or more
  official business directional signs. For the purposes of this chapter, an unsafe situation
  shall exist when there is insufficient visibility of a business’ on-premises signing
  that cannot be improved by the applicant business. Adequate visibility shall be determined
  by the Travel Information Council in consultation with the Agency of Transportation. (c) When the signs at one location are too numerous, or when highway safety requires for
  other reasons, as determined by the Travel Information Council, the signs may be removed
  and the applicant business given the option to purchase advertising plaques on information
  plazas, located and designed so that drivers of motor vehicles may leave the main
  traffic lanes and inspect them. Information plazas may contain maps and other information,
  depending on space availability, and may have telephone and other information facilities
  attached to them. Sign plazas shall include the international symbol to indicate that
  gasoline service is available to people with disabilities. The Agency of Commerce
  and Community Development shall be responsible for the costs of installing new information
  plazas and for the installation of advertising plaques on State-owned information
  plazas, provided that the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or designee
  gives prior approval for such costs and installation. If it is not practical to install
  information plazas or individual official business directional signs at any given
  location, because of the number of signs or because of traffic conditions, the Travel
  Information Council may in its discretion adopt some alternative method for providing
  information conveniently for travelers, including directions to zones or other geographic
  areas, and locally operated information booths and offices or multi-facility official
  business directional signs, or both. (d) If an official business directional sign cannot be sited in conformity with the traffic
  safety rules adopted by the Agency of Transportation, a person who believes that he
  or she is eligible under section 489 of this title for such a sign may request the Secretary of Transportation to grant a variance from
  the rules, setting forth in the request the physical circumstances or conditions that
  make it impossible to locate an official business directional sign in strict conformity
  with the traffic safety rules. The request shall show that variance, if authorized,
  will not be detrimental to the public welfare or safety and will represent the minimum
  variance that will afford relief and will represent the least deviation possible from
  the traffic safety rules. The Secretary’s denial of a variance request under this
  subsection may be appealed to the Transportation Board within 30 days of the denial.
  The Board’s determination of such an appeal shall be final. (Added 1995, No. 46, § 41; amended 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(a), (b); 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.)