BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to highway information signs; and amending RCW 47.36.320 and 47.36.330.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 47.36.320 and 1986 c 114 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The department is authorized to erect and maintain specific information panels within the right of way of both the primary system and the scenic system to give the traveling public specific information as to gas, food, recreation, or lodging available off the primary or scenic highway accessible by way of highways intersecting the primary or scenic highway. Such specific information panels and tourist-oriented directional signs shall be permitted only at locations within the corporate limits of cities and towns and areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses where there is adequate distance between interchanges to ensure compliance with the provisions of Title 23 C.F.R. secs. 655.308(a) and 655.309(a). Specific information panels shall include the words "GAS," "FOOD," "RECREATION," or "LODGING" and directional information and may contain one or more individual business signs maintained on the panel. The erection and maintenance of specific information panels along primary or scenic highways shall conform to the national standards promulgated by the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to sections 131 and 315 of Title 23 United States Code and rules adopted by the state department of transportation including the manual on uniform traffic control devices for streets and highways. A motorist service business located within one mile of a state highway shall not be permitted to display its name, brand, or trademark on a specific information panel unless its owner has first entered into an agreement with the department limiting the height of its on-premise signs at the site of its service installation to not more than fifteen feet higher than the roof of its main building.

The department shall adopt rules for the erection and maintenance of tourist-oriented directional signs with the following restrictions:

(1) Where installed, they shall be placed in advance of the "GAS," "FOOD," "RECREATION," or "LODGING" specific information panels previously described in this section;

(2) Signs shall not be placed to direct a motorist to an activity visible from the main traveled roadway;

(3) Premises on which the qualified tourist-oriented business is located must be within fifteen miles of the state highway except as provided in RCW 47.36.330(3)(b), and necessary supplemental signing on local roads must be provided before the installation of the signs on the state highway.

The department shall charge reasonable fees for the display of individual business signs to defray the costs of their installation and maintenance.

Sec. 2. RCW 47.36.330 and 1985 c 142 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Not more than six business signs may be permitted on specific information panels authorized by RCW 47.36.310 and 47.36.320.

(2) The maximum distance that eligible service facilities may be located on either side of an interchange or intersection to qualify for a business sign are as follows:

(a) On fully-controlled, limited access highways, gas, food, or lodging activities shall be located within three miles. Camping activities shall be within five miles.

(b) On highways with partial access control or no access control, gas, food, lodging, or camping activities shall be located within five miles.

(3)(a) If no eligible services are located within the distance limits prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, the distance limits shall be increased until an eligible service of a type being considered is reached, up to a maximum of fifteen miles.

(b) The department may erect and maintain signs on an alternate route that is longer than fifteen miles if it is safer and still provides reasonable and convenient travel to an eligible service.