Below is an example of a complaint I have filed with the Department of Transportation.
If you want to file a complaint about a state road, you can do so by contacting Mr. Thomas Buckley by phone at 675-5315 or by fax at 675-6404.
August 12, 1999
Department of Transportation
Attention: Mr. Thomas Buckley
This is a formal complaint and request to have speed limit signs placed on Highway 74 between Highway 61, Airline Highway, and Highway 73.
At this time, there are no signs at all. The lack of speed limit signs makes this stretch of road, in my opinion, most dangerous as vehicles now traverse this stretch of road at a high rate of speed.
Your immediate attention about this matter would be appreciated.
{Your Name Here}
August 21st, 1999 Speed Signs Installed
This past week The Department of transportation did in fact install fifty-five mile an hour speed limit signs on this stretch of road.
I felt the fifty-five mile an hour speed limit was too fast for a portion of the road so I sent the following fax back to Mr. Buckley this day. Response from him will be posted on this page as soon as I receive it.
Saturday, August 21,
1999
Department of Transportation
Attention Mr. Thomas Buckley
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your quick response to my letter to place speed limit signs on Highway 74 from Airline Highway to Highway 73.
If I might, may I request that you look into changing the speed limit from fifty-five miles per hour on Highway 74 east of the Interstate to Highway 73 to thirty-five mile per hour? The reason being there are entrances to a day care center and the Dutchtown Primary and Middle School on that particular stretch of road, and I feel fifty -five miles per hour is just too fast for the conditions.
Your attention to this matter and your reply to your intentions would be greatly appreciated.
September 1, 1999 Seek Parish Council Assistance
On Thursday August 26th I recruited the help of Mr. Jeff Poche, 673-3812, councilman for the eighth district, with regards to having the speed limit on Highway 74 reduced at the entrance to Dutchtown School Road. I have been informed that he indeed brought the matter before the council meeting that week.
I also contacted the superintendent of schools about the matter. He asked that both principles of the Dutchtown School send him written requests on the subject, and he in turn would contact Mr. Juba Diez asking for his help in having the speed reduced. I in turn contacted both principles who assured me they would in fact send written requests to the superintendent.
This problem requires involvement by all parents with children in the Dutchtown School System. Please take the time to contact those mentioned in this subject and express your concern. After all it's your children and yourself being put at risk each and every time you travel this road to drop off or pick up your children.
September 9, 1999 Getting Involvement
In order to get as many people involved in this matter I have enlisted the help of both principals at the Dutchtown Middle School, the superintendent of schools, Mr. Valintine of the Ascension Parish Council, and representative Juba Diez. The principals have contacted the superintendent requesting he in turn request the assistance of Mr. Juba Diez. I have also contacted Mr. Diez who requested that I contact Mr. Valintine and have him bring a resolution forth at the next council meeting. Mr. Valintine has agreed to do this.
I have also contacted the Department of Transportation to follow up on the request I previously made to have the speed limit reduced. It has been scheduled for investigation and I will post the results of that investigation here.
If you would like to get involved, might I suggest that you contact a Mr. Ronnie Carter, or Mr. Baxstead, at 231-4145 or in writing at
Department of
Transportation
District 61 Hq.
P.O. Box 831
Baton Rouge, La. 70821
Reference the item number 0399301 when discussing this issue.
September 25, 1999 Negative Response From The D.O.T.D.
It seems as if the Department of Transportation feels that 55 MPH in a heavily populated area, adjacent to a school, with an access road to that school used to pick up and drop off students is safe!
At least that's the impression I get from the response to the speed limit study I requested.
I feel that the only way to get the speed limit reduced on Highway 74, and all other roads in the parish that require it, is to request the aid of the Parish Council, and other influential persons in the parish. This is exactly what I intend to do. I would hope that others reading this will chip in and do the same.
September 25, 1999 Letter To The Council
Ascension Parish
Council
It seems as if the Department of Transportation feels that 55 MPH in a heavily
populated area, adjacent to a school, with an access road to that school used to
pick up and drop off students, is a safe speed limit!
At least that's the impression I get from the response to the speed limit study
I requested. A copy of which is attached to this letter/fax.
To give an idea as to how convoluted the speed limit system in this parish is I
give you the example of Cornerview. This road is less populated, has no school
adjacent to it, and no access to a school. Yet the speed limit there is 45 MPH.
At this time I would like to formally request that the council take up a written
resolution to remedy this problem. Not only with Highway 74, but all parish
roads. I feel that with the increase in population over the past few years begs
the review and modification of parish road speed limits.
I had previously discussed this with Mr. Juba Diez, and he asked that I contact
Mr. Sullivan and have him take up a written resolution to the problem. As of
9/24/99 at 12:30 PM Mr. Diez had yet to hear or see anything from Mr. Sullivan.
Your immediate response to this problem would be greatly appreciated.
cc: Gonzales Weekly
Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish School Board
November 12, 1999 Follow Up Letter To All
To the recipients,
This is a follow up to a request made 2 months past for assistance to get the speed limit on Highway 74 between Highway 73 and the overpass at Interstate 10 reduced from 55 miles per hour to a safer speed for reasons described below.
My attempts to sway the Department of Transportation were to no avail. See the attached document from the D.O.T. My request to the Ascension Parish Council has fallen on deaf ears. My request to Juba Diez has been ignored. My attempts to have the principals of the Dutchtown Primary and Middle Schools get involved have also failed. Contacting the Ascension Parish School Board has been a waste of time.
To refresh your very short memories the scenario is as follows. The section of road mentioned has a speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour. That section of road has access to the Dutchtown School Road used by more than one hundred vehicles a day to drop off and pick up students. This section of road also has a day care center situated there where Dutchtown School students are dropped off and picked up before and after school. This section of road is also heavily populated. Not to mention the hundreds of vehicles using this road to access and leave plants situated on the river at the same time school starts and ends. Another words this section of road is an accident waiting to happen!
For your further information Highway 621 and Cornerview Road parallel Highway 74 both with a speed limit of forty-five miles per hour. Neither of these roads has access to a school, is less heavily populated, and has no day care center located on them.
If you haven't noticed lately the roads in Ascension Parish are deplorable. There condition has caused too many accidents and deaths, and Ascension Parish Government is doing nothing about it.
It's time ladies and gentlemen to get your priorities straight. Our students' safety comes first. Your involvement in the past about this problem shows that this is not your priority.
Cc via fax to:
Advocate
Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish Council
Ascension Parish President
Ascension Parish TV
Ascension Parish School Board
Channel 2
Channel 9
Channel 33
Department of Transportation
Principal Dutchtown Primary School
Principal Dutchtown Middle School
Gonzales Weekly
Louisiana Board of Education
Response From School Superintendent
November 18, 1999
Mr. Cloutare superintendent of schools contacted me this week about the above
last letter I sent November 12th. He claims that I exaggerated in the fact that
the school board, the parish council, and Juba Diez did in fact do something.
That something was that they wrote a resolution to the Department of
Transportation to lower the speed limit. He further claims that the DOT rejected
their request.
My response was that they in fact did not do anything because they resigned themselves that nothing more could be done when in fact more could and should be done by way of an appeal, get their lawyers involved, or just plain investigate further what has to be done to sway the DOT to make the changes.
Your government seems to think that a half hearted effort is all that's required of them. If they do this then they feel they've done their job and can forget that the danger involved still exists. That's your half baked government at work folks. Just remember, it was your votes and lack of concern as to who those elected officials appointed to important positions that allows situations such as this to exist. Now you have a government that either doesn't care, or is just not qualified to do the job. My opinion is you have both.
Sooner or later someone is going to get seriously injured or killed trying to enter or leave the Dutchtown schools via the Dutchtown School Road. That's when your semi to non qualified elected officials will get off their dead asses and jump to the occasion. But then it will be too late. Think it over folks, it's your children at the risk of harm or death.
Here is my answer to the rejection I received from the Department of Transportation. You can get involved by contacting Mr. Temple at;
Mr. William Temple
Assistant Secretary of Operations
Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 94245
Baton Rouge, La. 70804-9245
Telephone 379-1234
Fax 379-1861
November 12, 1999
William Temple
Assistant Secretary of Operations
Department of Transportation
P O Box 94245
Baton Rouge, La. 70804
Please accept this letter/fax as a formal request for appeal regarding your rejection of my request to lower the speed limit on Highway 74 from the junction of Highway 73 east to the overpass on Highway 74 at Interstate 10.
Attached is a copy of your rejection, and a copy of a letter sent this day to various organizations explaining in detail the reason for a reduction in speed.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any thing else you require to expedite this matter.
Charles Le Mieux
Cc:
Ascension Parish School Board
Mr. Robert Clouatre
December 2, 1999
The Editor
Community Mirror
Dear Sir or Madam:
First, I would like to thank you for your continued interest with regards to reducing the speed limit on Highway 74 in the Dutchtown School area. Your publication is doing a great service to the residents of this parish bringing this subject to light.
I would however at this time like to comment on statements made by Mr. Juba Diez.
I agree with Mr. Diez that, “state legislators do not install street lights nor do they set speed limits”. But what Mr. Diez and the rest of the politicians in Ascension Parish do not seem to realize is that they are, and I emphasize are, the means to facilitate swaying the Department of Transportations decision, or implementing legal actions to change these so called “experts” minds at the D.O.T.D.
Evidently Mr. Diez, the School Board, and the parish council feel that their halfhearted attempt of contacting the D.O.T. was sufficient. And, that the negative response returned by them was the end of their responsibility to the residents of this parish. NOT SO! It should be the beginning of their attempts to have the speed limit reduced and anything else deemed necessary to make this area safe for vehicular traffic before someone is seriously injured or killed there.
Should their cooperative efforts fail after all avenues available to them have been exhausted, then they should turn their attention to creating a new access to the primary and middle schools from Highway 73. Which has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour, flashing traffic lights, school signs, and a traffic control officer.
Sincerely,
Chuck Le Mieux
January 6, 2000
To whom it may concern
Re: Dutchtown School Road
Re: State Highway 74
Dear Sir or Madam:
It is my understanding that in order for the State or one of it’s parishes to be held liable for property damage, bodily injury, or death occurring on one of their roads, the state or one of it’s parishes must have previously been put on notice of the dangers existing on that road. That is the intent of this letter.
It is my opinion that the items listed below are safety hazards that could cause property damage, bodily injury, or death.
With reference to Dutchtown School Road-
q Inadequate facilities to allow for the safe entrance and exit to this road.
q The overflow of vehicles at times onto State Highway 74 by vehicles waiting to drop off or pick up students.
q Lack of a traffic officer, traffic signs, or traffic signals to alleviate the danger entering and exiting this road.
q Vehicles driving down the wrong side of this road gaining entrance to the schools.
q Absence of adequate shoulders the entire length of the road.
q Sheer drop offs the entire length of the road into drainage ditches approximately two to three feet deep without adequate facilities to prevent vehicles from driving off into these drainage ditches.
q Students forced to walk on the road because of the lack of adequate walkways.
With reference to State Highway 74-
q Lack of a safe speed limit at the entrance to Dutchtown School Road insuring safe entrance and exiting of Dutchtown School Road.
q Lack of warning signs, or traffic signals to insure safe entrance and exit of Dutchtown School Road.
Please consider yourselves properly put on notice as to the dangers existing on Dutchtown School Road and State Highway 74 with the receipt of this letter.
Rest assured that in the event of any malady causing property damage, bodily injury, and God forbid death, that I will make every effort to provide a copy of this notice to those involved, their insurance companies, and their attorneys.
Sincerely,
Chuck Le Mieux
Cc/Fax to:
Mr. Harold Marchand Ascension Parish President
The Ascension Parish Council
Mr. Anthony Falterman Ascension Parish District Attorney
Mr. Frank Fredrick Ascension Parish Public Works
Mr. Ronald Carter D.O.T. District Traffic Operations Engineer
Mr. John (Juba) Diez Louisiana State Representative
Mr. Cecil Picard Louisiana Board of Education
Mr. Robert Clouatre Ascension Parish School Superintendent
Ms. Elizabeth Stafford Dutchtown Primary Principle
Ms. Kathy Meredith Dutchtown Middle Principle
Mr. Harry Robert Insurance Agent for Ascension Parish
Ms. Jean Payne of Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services
Mr. Jeff Wiley Ascension Parish Sheriff
The Advocate’s River Parish Office
The Gonzales Weekly
The Community Mirror
The Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish TV
Channel 2’s Two On Your Side
Channel 9 TV
Channel 33 TV
I have again received a rejection from the D.O.T.D. trying to get a speed limit reduction and safety devices put in place.
I have sent yet another reply to them insisting they change their minds and if not to use their influence to force Ascension Parish to close down the Dutchtown School Road and create a new entrance on Highway 73.
Finally A Partial Resolve To The Highway 74 Issue.
February 13, 2000
We now have a school crossing guard at the entrance to the Dutchtown School Road and Highway 74.
After months of negotiations and correspondence with the Ascension Parish School Board, The D.O.T.D., Representative Juba Deiz, both the past and present Parish Presidents and others, all of which fell on deaf ears by the way, Parish Councilman Shafter Kling stepped forward and lent his assistance to persuade the parish to hire a school crossing guard.
This is by no means a total solution to the problems associated with this issue though. We still need to get the D.O.T.D. to change their asinine and unbending insistence that the speed limit not be reduced and traffic signals need not be installed on this stretch of road. Mr. Kling has assured me that he will do what he can to persuade the D.O.T.D to change their minds. What is also needed here is your assistance. Letters and phone calls to your elected and appointed officials would be a great help.
I want to bring to your attention again, that the Ascension Parish presidents, both past and especially present, the School Board Superintendent, Mr. Juba Diez, the D.O.T.D., and both the principals of the Dutchtown Middle, and Primary schools offered no more than lip service to this serious issue regarding the health, safety, and welfare of the parish residents and the students of both schools.
Keep in mind parish residents that these are your elected officials and their political appointees. None of which, so far, has shown me any real concern for their constituents or to the health welfare and safety of those that has been entrusted to them.
So how about it? Join in and let these out of date non caring elected officials and their political appointees know that you put them in office and you can remove them just as easily if their attitudes don't show an immediate change for the better.
D.O.T.D's reason for setting speed bogus!
January 22,2000
Mr.
Gordon E Nelson
District Engineer Administrator
State of Louisiana
Department of Transportation and Development
P.O. Box 831
Baton Rouge, La. 70821
Dear Sir:
With reference to your letter of January 6, 2000:
Your speed limit policy, using the 85th percentile speed algorithm to calculate the speed limit on Highway 74, in my opinion does not take into consideration special circumstances. A better algorithm would be 100-4-24. This algorithm states, one hundred percent of all traffic at Dutchtown School Road, which is well in excess of 200 vehicles, entering and exiting onto Highway 74 occurs in four hours of a twenty4our hour day when traffic is at its maximum concentration. No other road accessing Highway 74 has this concentration of traffic in this very short amount of time. This high concentration of traffic, coupled with an excessively high speed limit and lack of sufficient safety devices requires, in my opinion, special consideration. Something you and your staff cannot seem to grasp.
Further more, this 85th percentile speed algorithm seems to allow the speed of a particular road to be dictated by individual driving speeds instead of good common sense. In other words, if others and I use a particular road using excessive speed with little or no traffic control to deter those excessive speeds, which has been and still is the norm in Ascension Parish, then this excessive speed becomes the norm instead of a danger.
Your statement that, "Schools and Day Care Centers do not figure prominently as a consideration for setting speed limits because the children are car passengers that are not exposed to any unreasonable danger when attended by reasonably prudent drivers" is the most flagrant disregard for public safety I've ever heard. I cannot believe that you feel that while others and I who are prudent drivers cannot be hurt, maimed, or killed by those who are not so prudent drivers. If all drivers were prudent, then you and I would not be butting heads over this issue
Another constant you and your staff have failed to grasp with this questionable 85th percentile speed algorithm is the huge influx of residents into this area in the past few years. Gonzales is no longer a small quiet town, but rather a large growing city that has out grown its present road system. I would hazard a guess that mere than seventy-five percent of the reads in Gonzales are sub standard. Add
this to your dogmatic insistence to use this 85th percentile speed algorithm and you are inviting the possibility of inexcusable property damage, serious injury, or death.
I strongly urge you again reconsider your decision not to reduce the speed limit on Highway 74 and installing sufficient safety devices to eliminate accidents, which are certain to happen if these serious deficiencies are left unchecked, or, use your position to force Ascension Parish to close down this terribly inadequate road access in favor of a better option. This option could possibly be access to the school from Highway 73, which has a safe speed limit, safety devices, and a traffic officer to guarantee safe access and exit from the school, and meets the criteria you spell out in your letter.
· Page 2 January 22, 2000
Sincerely
Chuck Le, Mieux
Cc/Fax
to:
Mr. Harold Marchand Ascension Parish President
The Ascension Parish Council
Mr. Anthony Falterman Ascension Parish District Attorney
Mr. Frank Fredrick Ascension Parish Public Works
Mr. John (Juba) Diaz Louisiana State Representative
Mr. Cecil Picard Louisiana Board of Education
Mr. Robert Clouatre Ascension Parish School Superintendent
Ms. Elizabeth Stafford Dutchtown Primary Principle
Ms. Cathy Meredith Dutchtown Middle Principle
Mr. Harry Robert Insurance Agent for Ascension Parish
Ms. Jean Payne of Gallagher Bassatt Insurance Services
Mr. Jeff Wiley Ascension Parish Sheriff
The Advocate's River Parish Office
The Gonzales Weekly
The Community Mirror
The Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish TV
Channel 2's Two On Your Side
Channel 9 TV
Channel 33 TV
Scanned from the original document received by me on 3/30/2000
Dear Mr. Le Mieux:
This letter is in response to your January 22, 2000 letter concerning our
decision not to lower the speed limit on La 74. As a follow-up to our January 6,
2000 letter to you, in regard to the 85th percentile policy, I am attaching a
copy of a Report No. 1465-1, prepared by the Texas Transportation Institute, in
cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration. Your attention is directed
to p 12 of the study which states the two
exceptions to the 85th percentile procedure, (1) statewide statute (55 mph max
for 2-lane
roads), and (2) for roadway sections with high accident experience - a speed
limit 7 mph
lower than the 85th percentile speed may be set.
Since our last correspondence with you on January 6, 2000, we have gotten access
to newer accident data. Although there were only 12 accidents in that
section of highway from 1995 to 1998, the data shows the accident rate for the
captioned section of highway to be increasing. Therefore, as per our
department's policies, we are recommending that the speed limit on La 74 be
lowered from 55 mph to 50 mph (5 mph below the 85th percentile speed) from the
1-10 overpass to the junction of La 73.
RDC/DB/ts Attachment
Sincerely,
GORDON E. NELSON, P.E.
DISTRICT ENGINEER ADMINISTRATOR
RONALD D. CARTER, P.E.
DISTRICT TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ENGINEER
Page 12:
POSTED SPEED AND HIGHWAY OPERATIONS
Selecting Posted Speed for a
Highway
The posted speed (shown in 5 mph increments, e.g., 30, 35, 40) is generally
obtained by rounding the 85th percentile speed to the nearest speed value in
miles per hour that ends in 5 or O. Using the 85th percentile speed in selecting
posted speeds is based upon the belief that the large majority of drivers
 |
are capable of judging appropriate speeds based
upon the roadway geometry, roadside development, weather conditions,
traffic, etc., and |
|
operate at speeds that are reasonable and
prudent. |
Basing posted speeds upon 85th percentile speeds
also promotes uniformity among speeds at a given location (i.e., it keeps the
bell-shaped curve in Figure 1 tall and thin). The benefit of a uniform speed is
that vehicle collisions are less likely to occur if drivers are traveling at
about the same speed.
Applying Posted Speed in Highway Operations
Exceptions to the 85th Percentile Procedure
There have been two principal exceptions to the 85th percentile speed procedure.
1) On sections of highway with high accident experience, the posted speed may be
as much as 7 mph lower than the 85th percentile speed.
2) National or state maximum speed limits prohibit higher posted speeds, even
when the 85th percentile speed is higher.
There are concerns that. except in cases where safety makes it necessary,
posting speeds below the 85th percentile speed puts the majority of drivers in
violation, places unnecessary burdens on law enforcement personnel in
arbitrarily selecting who should be ticketed, leads to a lack of credibility of
speed limits, and leads to the use of large tolerances adopted by enforcement
agencies.
In response to the above
March 30, 2000
To all concerned
Re: Highway 74 speed limit
Dear Sir or Madam:
Attached find excerpts from documents received by me this date from the D.O.T.D. concerning the excessive speed limit on Highway 74 between Highway 73 and the Interstate 10 overpass.
Although it is a step in the right direction, I feel it is still falls far short of a satisfactory solution to the problem.
I bring your attention to the second paragraph of Mr. Nelson’s letter where he states, “Although there were only 12 accidents in that section of highway from 1995 to 1998, the data shows the accident rate for the captioned section of highway to be increasing.”
I take exception to Mr. Nelson’s use of the words “only 12 accidents”. One accident is too many. Also by his own admission he confirms that the accident rate for this particular stretch of road is increasing. Both of which, in my opinion, require the speed limit be reduced more than 5 miles per hour.
At this time like to thank those very few who have assisted me in my effort to bring the speed limit down, and to those, whom ever you may be, that had the 25 miles per hour school zone signs installed. And, admonish those, both person and media, who feel that the safety of parish residents is not a worthwhile effort.
Now that there is, and will be new speed limits I hope that they will be strictly enforced by the proper authorities responsible for that particular section of highway.
Sincerely,
Chuck Le Mieux
Cc/Fax To:
Mr. Ronald Carter D.O.T.D.
District Traffic Operations Engineer
Mr, Cecil Picard Louisian Board of Education
Mr. Robert Clouatre Ascension Parish School Superintendent
Ms. Cathy Merideth Principal Dutchtown Middle School
Ms. Elizabeth Stafford Principal Dutchtown Primary School
The Ascension Parish Council
Mr. Anthony Falterman Ascension Parish District Attorney
Mr. Bill Roux Ascension Parish Dept of Public Works
Mr. John (Juba) Diez Louisiana State Representative
Mr. Harry Robert Insurance Agent for Ascension Parish
Ms. Jean Payne of Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services
Mr. Jeff Wiley Ascension Parish Sheriff
Sgt. Richardson of the Ascension Parish Sheriffs Dept.
The Advocates River Parish Office
The Gonzales Weekly
The Community Mirror
The Ascension Citizen
Ascension Parish TV
Channel Two News
Channel Two – Two On your Side
Channel 9
Channel 33
June 2, 2000
PERSISTENCE
PAYS OFF!
Attached is a letter from the D.O.T.D. with regards to implementing traffic
signals, speed limit signs, and turn lanes at the entrance to Dutchtown School
Road at Highway 74.
It is now up to all those concerned to get together and apply to the D.O.T.D. for permits to install those facilities.
We have about 10 weeks before school begins again, and I would strongly urge that those facilities be in place by then.
For those of you who are not up to speed on this issue let me inform you what was told to me by the D.O.T.D. That was, that they “went against policy” with regards to this issue. Policy states that to be a school zone, students must cross the road in question, but because of the dangerous situation that exists they saw no other alternative but to recommend the traffic facilities be installed to insure safe exit and entry to the Dutchtown schools.
I hope that political bickering can be put aside, and all concerned work together to accomplish resolve of this serious safety issue in time for the new school year.
Sincerely
Chuck Le Mieux
Below is an email from the D.O.T.D. with regards to the Highway 74 safety issue. Just because they said no the first time doesn't mean you should give up.
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF!
From: RonnieCarter@dotd. state.la, us
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 10:36 AM
To: Chuck Le Mieux
Cc: PeterAIlain @dotd. state, la. us; Gordon Nelson@dotd. state, la. u s
Subject: Re: hwy74Update.doc
In accordance with our phone conversation today and your request, this will document that this office concurs with the placement of a school speed zone on La 74. However, we recommend replacing the hour sign plate with a sign plate with the legend "When Flashing", which could be activated by the crossing guard. This would limit the speed zone only to the necessary time, rather than a mandatory 2-hour period. Our office has also recommended the construction of a left-turn lane on La 74 to facilitate the left turns into and out of the school road. As I mentioned, these recommendations require approval of other personnel within the Department prior to implementation, and if the left-turn lane is approved, the scheduling of this work cannot be determined at this time. Also, one thing that I may have failed to mention to you is that the Department does not install flashing school zone signs, but only grants permits for them to be installed. The local school board is responsible for installation (by permit), operation and maintenance of these signs (the Department only installs non-flashing school zone signs). However, as I'm sure you've noticed, these signs are regularly installed in this manner.
