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St. Louis County tells Ballwin to remove ‘Double Fine Zone’ signs

By Gretchen A. Harman

The city of Ballwin recently received a letter from the St. Louis County Highways, Traffic and Public Works Department regarding the double fine zone signs they recently erected on targeted Ballwin streets.

The letter stated that Baxter Road is in the jurisdiction of St. Louis County and due to this authority, prohibits the city of Ballwin from placing double fine zone signs along this stretch of road.

“We must deny the posting of double fine zone signs on Baxter Road, between Greenmore Drive and Forest Leaf Drive. We believe such signage would cause the effectiveness of normally posted regulatory type signage to be diminished,” wrote Sheryl L. Hodges, D.E., P.E., L.P.G., director of the St. Louis County Highways & Traffic and Public Works Department in a letter to the city of Ballwin.

According to St. Louis County officials, Baxter Road is on the county’s arterial road system. The traffic control measures on this roadway are typical of those on other streets in the metropolitan region that the county maintains, in both incorporated and unincorporated areas.

“We strive to maintain uniformity in the application of traffic control devices on the county’s roadway system. It is the policy of this department to not allow signs to be posted along county roadways which would infer that traffic regulations on a particular section of roadway are given a higher preference for enforcement. As a result, we do not allow signs to be posted with the message ‘Travel Safe Zone,’ ‘Radar Patrolled,’ ‘Speed Limit Strictly Enforced,’ ‘Double Fine Zone’ or ‘Special Traffic Enforcement Zone,’ ” Hodges wrote.

The letter went on to state that as caretakers of the public road network, St. Louis County has established a standard that discourages the proliferation of signage of this type.

“We believe drivers should always abide by the rules of the road and that no regulatory signage on any street should be perceived by the motoring public as being more enforceable through the posting of special signage,” Hodges said.

In March, the Ballwin Board of Aldermen approved creating certain areas within the city of Ballwin as double-fine zones for drivers who are ticketed for speeding.

The bill was created based on “safety issues regarding speeding” and the fine issued by the municipal judge for a conviction will be at the rate double the standard fine for moving motor vehicle violations.