The Department of Highways shall erect within six hundred and sixty (660) feet of the right-of-way of any interstate, limited access highway, federal-aid primary highway, or turnpikes official directional signs and notices pertaining to publicly and privately owned natural wonders and scenic and historical attractions, including cultural, scientific, educational, and religious sites, and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor recreation deemed to be in the interest of the traveling public under the following conditions:
(1) Such signs shall not violate any federal law, rule, or regulation, nor exceed any standards of size, lighting, spacing, and message content as may be promulgated from time to time by the secretary of the United States Department of Transportation under subsection (c) of Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code affecting the allocation of federal funds to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
(2) Such signs and notices shall not violate any safety standards set forth in KRS
177.830 to 177.890 nor any regulation promulgated by the commissioner of highways pursuant to KRS § 177.860.
(3) The message content on such signs and notices shall be limited to the identification by name of the attraction or activity and directional information useful to the traveler in locating the attraction, such as mileage, route numbers, or exit numbers. Descriptive words or phrases, and pictorial or photographic representations of the activity or its environs are prohibited.
(4) The commissioner of highways shall promulgate by regulations specific selection methods and criteria to be used in determining those sites and attractions, publicly and privately owned, for which directional signs and notices may be erected as permitted by subsection (c) of Section 131 of Title 23, United States Code. A statement as to selection methods, criteria, and standards of size, lighting, and spacing shall be furnished to the secretary of the United States Department of Transportation before the Department of Highways erects any such directional signs and notices. The commissioner shall consider and determine, upon proper application to the Department of Highways, those sites and attractions eligible for official directional signs and notices.
(5) The Department of Highways shall require reimbursement for the cost of erection and maintenance of official directional signs and notices authorized by this section when such sites or attractions are privately owned and shall prescribe the size, number, and locations of such signs and notices based upon its determination of the traveler’s need for information.
(6) The commissioner of highways shall promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 317, sec. 1.