Amendments to the Highway Signage Policy

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, announced today that the amendments to the Highway Signage Policy have been approved by government and are effective immediately.

"Government's revisions to the Highway Signage Regulations are intended to better reflect the needs and requirements of tourism operators throughout the province. The revised policy provides less restrictive standards for off-site promotional signage design and location, and will provide the travelling public with core information on tourism operations and services," said Minister Aylward. "In keeping with government's commitment to providing a fair and effective policy on highway signage for tourism operators, as well as the province as a whole, the new policy will become effective immediately to allow sufficient time for tourism operators to prepare for the upcoming tourism season." 

Government initiated a review policy through an advisory committee comprised of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chamber of Commerce, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities and the departments of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Municipal and Provincial Affairs, Government Services and Lands, and Works, Services and Transportation. They assessed several areas of the existing policy and outlined a set of revisions in response to conflicting interests and demands surrounding highway signage. Government is confident that these revisions reflect the needs and concerns which have been expressed over the past number of months and provide a balanced solution to varying provincial interests surrounding highway signage. These include the need for adequate directional signage for tourists, the need to maintain highway safety standards and the need to preserve the pristine, uncluttered environment of the province - a core theme of the province's tourism marketing strategy. 

"We are pleased that after months of negotiation, the province finally has a highway signage policy that better reflects the realities of the tourism industry," said Roger Jamieson, President of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador. "This new policy addresses many of the issues that have caused difficulty for our members, including distance from intersections and the purchasing of repeater signage. We congratulate our partners in government for recognizing the difficulty this policy caused for our industry and for working to arrive at a reasonable solution."

"The search for a consistent policy has been ongoing for a decade or more and the federation was pleased to be able to provide input in recent years. We support getting a policy finalized and will continue to offer our assistance on behalf of our members. We want to ensure the policy is clear and works towards everyone's benefit," said Randy Simms, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities.

Media contact: Catherina Kennedy, Tourism, Culture and Recreation (709) 729-0928.
Rick Callahan, Government, Services and Lands, (709) 729-4860.

2001 12 03                           3:30 p.m.