City looks at alternatives to roadside memorials for crash victims

The city of El Paso is looking into regulating roadside memorials for people killed in a car wreck. For some, placing a memorial where a loved one died is a way to work through the pain.

But City Council members worry the practice can be unsafe and have asked staff to come up with some alternatives.

“There was also presented the possibility of having a tree. You can actually have a tree planted at a park. And then you can pay for the tree or pay for the plaque. You can even have a park bench out there. So, really, a lot of options,” Councilwoman Lily Limon said.

There would be a one-time fee ranging from $200 to $350 for a permanent memorial tree. The one-time fee for a permanent memorial bench could range from $2,000 to $3,000.

The city would maintain the trees and benches located at any city park or trail. Impromptu roadside memorials would still be allowed, but they could not be left up indefinitely.

“The city was bringing to us ‘Let’s allow the spontaneous memorials for 15 days.’ And I think really the concensus of council is 15 days is not enough. We want to look more like 30 to 45 days,” Limon said.

Ted Marquez is the director of Streets and Maintenance.

“They want to make sure that we touch base with the people who do the impromptu memorials and notify them that we are going to remove them or they can remove them themselves and keep those materials,” siad Marquez.

A permit for city-approved memorial markers would have an annual fee of $124.

City Council did not take a vote on the issue. Instead, they asked staff members to come back to them within 30 days with more information on alternatives to roadside memorials.