Candidates and campaign workers will want to pay attention when placing roadside signs in Ada County this fall. An updated ordinance that guides where to put them went into effect Wednesday.

The Ada County Highway District Commission wanted to ensure that campaign signs do not create physical or visual obstructions. If signs create a hazard, ACHD will remove them.

Under the ordinance:

• Signs must be placed outside of the “vision triangle,” a space 40 feet back from the point in the intersection where the curb lines meet, or where the edge of pavement on roads without curbs would meet. This includes any private property within the triangle.

• Signs may be placed no closer than 6 feet from the back of the curb or 12 feet from the edge of pavement on roads without curbs.

• No sign may be placed in roadway landscaping areas, including in medians, in roundabouts or within the parking strips between the curb and the sidewalk.

• No flashing lights or other effects, which could create a hazardous distraction, are allowed.

• No signs may be placed on signal poles, traffic signs or any other piece of public road infrastructure.

• Signs must be removed within 48 hours of the election.

Signs in violation of the ordinance may be removed by ACHD personnel and could lead to civil penalties equal to the cost of removing the sign. Also, the candidate seeking office or the sponsor of a ballot measure is presumed to be responsible for the sign placement.

Signs that have been removed can be recovered at ACHD, 3775 Adams St. in Garden City, unless they are damaged or lost.

These rules apply only to ACHD-controlled streets and rights of way, and not to state-controlled roads such as the freeway, Eagle Road and Idaho 55.

The Idaho Transportation Department allows no election signs or posters to be placed on any roadway or right of way under its jurisdiction.

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428, Twitter: @CynthiaSewell