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bpeoples's avatar

Laws about posting things on telephone poles?

Asked by bpeoples (2551points) September 10th, 2009

I’m in Pittsburgh, PA, and considering as part of an art project posting some things on telephone poles in the area.

A quick search turned up very little on public postings—just dropping fliers on people’s doorsteps and windows. Any ideas?

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4 Answers

marinelife's avatar

Here is Pennslyvania law on the subject:

“Signs on Utility Poles

Posting signs on utility poles is illegal and unsafe. This includes signs advertising businesses, products or services as well as ‘For Sale’ or ‘For Rent’ and election signs and signs for yard sales or festivals. Pennsylvania law prohibits the use of any metal or hard substances such as nails, tacks, staples or metal fasteners for attachments to utility poles unless these attachments have been reviewed by engineering and an attachment agreement prepared and signed by all parties involved. A person is guilty of a summary offense if he drives a nail or hard substance to or into any pole of any public utility pole line. Exceptions does not apply to: (1) the public utility or its licensee using the poles from affixing its metal or other markers or from otherwise using the poles in its public service or (2) the erecting traffic signs and other signs similar thereto by a municipality when authorized by statute or by the owner of such poles.”

bpeoples's avatar

Well, that seems to answer it!

Thanks =)

SBritton's avatar

Well if it is illegal to hang a sign on a dead tree in public places, than we truly do have a dictatorship and certainly not a democracy. ridiculous. There are fewer and fewer options for anyone to legally reach the community without paying large corporate owned media. Or having some uptight citizen cry spam. Hanging a sign on a pole is not as unsafe as taking a man’s right to communicate with his community away and further marginlizing those who are struggling financially, pushing him into a corner economically speaking. A yard sale sign or a sing for a guy trying to earnmoeny cutting lawns, or a painter where this may be the only way a person who is paying high rent, high energy costs and groceries, healthcare and so on all working for fixed wages or who may be unemployed may have to raise money to provide for family need, or to launch a small neighborhood business.
Sometimes a bit of civil disobedience is in order. Unsafe, bull, like someone is going to hang a sign with rusty edges. Or something heavy that might fall and harm someone. The signs are cardboard for Pete sakes, what a smokescreen by the PR people. Someone got tired of fielding calls from busybody housewives with nothing better to do than complain about those pesky poor people. Same type who routinely run homeless people out from under bridges. I bet the law makes it illegal to be homeless to. Isn’t this the State whose Pinkerton Marshals shot and killed the workers at the Carnegie steel mills? Newsflash most of the mills are now closed and people are looking for odd jobs to survive. The mill jobs got offshored along with the corporate profits, neither are providing tax base anymore. Why not use the taxpayer’s money to solve those problems instead of writing stupid laws that harm the most exposed of your citizens.

Allig8r's avatar

Just an FYI, the law was enacted to protect the utility workers from being injured while climbing the pole and/or working aloft.

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