Stevens Point looking for help with disappearing street signs
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - Stevens Point officials are asking for the public’s help to stop a rash of deliberate street sign thefts that are endangering drivers and draining the local budget.
Over the last two weeks, vandals have stolen five stop signs, two orange construction barrels, and multiple no-parking signs from what Mayor Mike Wiza calls the city’s core. The thefts have been concentrated in intersections starting downtown and stretching east from the Wisconsin River.
Wiza emphasized that the missing signs are the result of deliberate theft, not weather or accidents.
“They are not accidental,” Wiza said. “Bolts don’t come off in the wind. And whole poles don’t get uprooted and moved without us being able to find them.”
Beyond the immediate physical danger of a missing stop sign at a busy intersection, the thefts are taking a financial toll on the city. Replacing a single street sign costs taxpayers $500.
These repetitive, unexpected expenses are putting a heavy strain on the city’s $12,000 annual maintenance budget, which is intended to cover natural wear and tear.
Wiza urged community members to stop taking the signs, stressing their vital role in local traffic safety.
“Please don’t do that,” Wiza said. “Don’t vandalize them, don’t steal them, don’t misplace them. These signs are there for a reason.”
Damaging or removing road signs is a violation of Wisconsin state law, and warning labels detailing the penalties are printed directly on the signs themselves.
If you have any information regarding the missing signs, you are asked to contact the Stevens Point Police Department’s non-emergency line at 715-346-1500. Tips can be made anonymously. Wiza added that the city would also be satisfied if the missing items were simply returned.
“If the signs just happen to show up back to where they were, we’d be OK with that too,” Wiza said.
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