Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) motorway maintenance crews have begun removing presidential election candidate’s posters from the roads network in Clare for which the body is responsible.
This afternoon, staff removed posters of Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys from light poles on the N19 near Shannon Airport. The posters, which were attached to the poles with plastic cable ties, were cut down by a work crew and removed.
A TII spokesperson said: “Candidates and election workers should be advised that, with the exception of emergency situations, it is illegal to stop on motorways for any purpose (including the erection of election material). This prohibition exists for road safety reasons and to ensure avoidance of traffic flow disruption.
Similarly, for road safety and efficiency reasons, the same approach should be adopted in the case of dual carriageways.
Additionally, on bridges/overpasses there is an inherent risk in the practice of suspending/attaching banners and posters from/to road overbridges and pedestrian bridges. Such banners/posters could become loose or be interfered with by third parties and could fall onto fast moving traffic on the roads below and has the potential to cause a serious accident.
Therefore, to maintain a safer environs contractors engaged by TII have been instructed to remove any election material placed on/along the roadways, overbridges, interchanges and at interchange approaches.”
