This week, Boulder residents were confronted with a startling sight: a number of offensive traffic signs appeared on city roadways, delivering messages that were very different from the typically austere instructions found on government signage. These unauthorized signs, which sternly warned drivers with wording like “Put the phone down (expletive)” and “Don’t kill any kids today,” were later removed by crews from the City of Boulder’s transportation department. According to 9News, the Boulder Police Department acknowledged that they had no leads on who was in charge of putting up the placards.
The Denver Post claims that among the obscene messages were “Slow down (expletive)” and “Get off your damn phone.” At least four places in the Boulder area were reported to have these illegal placards. Dionne Waugh, a spokesperson for Boulder Police, described the signs, some of which utilized profanity to emphasize the value of paying attention to the road and obeying speed limits. This was a straightforward way for someone to express their annoyance with distracted driving.
The city’s current effort for safer streets may serve as the backdrop for this guerilla signage campaign. Implementing a citywide default speed restriction of 20 mph is one of the steps in Boulder’s 2023–2027 Vision Zero Action Plan to reduce traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. Statistics from the city of Boulder’s crash data, which show three fatal crashes in 2023 and an additional 55 that resulted in serious injuries, highlight how urgent this strategy is. One of these events was the unfortunate death of a woman early on September 27 on Broadway close to Raleigh Road. KDVR has emphasized, however, that none of the deadly collisions happened close to the locations of the controversial placards.
Although the signs have been taken down, Boulder police are still investigating the incident as a possible case of criminal tampering. Anyone in the community who may know where these indications are coming from is being asked to assist authorities. According to KDVR, police have set up a tip line with reference to case 24-12182. Meanwhile, the bizarre incident makes both municipal authorities and citizens wonder about the extent people will go to in order to express their opinions and the conversations that can occur when the conventional channels for doing so are ignored.
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