City Looking Into Regulating Roadside Memorials

The city wants to regulate makeshift, roadside memorials meant to honor the memory of people killed in car crashes.

City staff are concerned the memorials distract drivers, but are also taking into consideration how the removal of those memorials might hurt families still dealing with the painful loss of a loved one.

“We do tend to leave them alone, especially, when they’re new,” said Ellen Smyth, the Director of the Environmental Services Department. “Once they start becoming little dumping grounds, or the flowers don’t have any color in them, at that point, we probably would take them away.”

An ordinance in place right now allows the city to remove the memorials immediately, but the city waits because it does not want to contact a mourning family right away.

“It is a sensitive subject,” said an El Pasoan present during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “Maybe (the city) can let (mourning families) know the memorial will stay up for a month and after that, for uniformity purposes, they can apply for a plaque.”

The city will explore how it can regulate the roadside memorials.