Roadside Memorials On Highway 4 Deemed Too Dangerous
BRENTWOOD (KCBS) - Roadside memorials will no longer be allowed to stand erected on a busy stretch of highway in eastern Contra Costa County.
The State Route 4 Bypass Authority, which governs the area, has adopted a policy banning such makeshift displays, warning that officials would also act as quickly as possible to remove them if they are discovered on the side of the road.
The thinking behind the new policy: the memorials, which are often created to honor victims of traffic collisions and drunk driving accidents, could actually lead to more accidents.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:
The policy was specifically created to target the stretch of highway connecting Antioch with Brentwood.
"The last thing we want is for the tragedy to be compounded," Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said, emphasizing that his agency stood firmly behind the Bypass Authority's new policy. "You know, if somebody is out there placing a memorial and they become either injured or killed, that's the one thing we want to avoid."
Haus stressed that Caltrans was willing to work with friends and loved ones of drunk driving accidents - putting up official memorial signs and maintaining them on behalf of the victim.
"If you don't have the proper equipment and the proper training to be out on the side of the highway you really are taking your life in your hands," warned Haus. "Because the sides of highways are just incredibly dangerous places."
The Bypass Authority approved the policy last week, and it went into effect immediately.
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