By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times

The Alaska Superior Court on Sept. 18 supported a May 30, 2008 decision by a review panel of the state Department of Transportation to deny Shoreside Petroleum, owner of the Essential 1 gas station in Bird, an application for an encroachment permit to allow the gas station's sign to remain in the right-of-way on the Seward Highway.

Shoreside Petroleum then filed a motion in court seeking to coordinate the removal of the lighted sign with “the implementation of reasonable appropriate highway safety measures by the DOT and Federal Highway Administration.”

The DOT appealed the motion and the Superior Court ruled in its favor on Nov. 12, ordering the removal of the sign 30 days after the notice of its decision is received.

“They've (DOT) sent a letter out requesting removal of the sign, and we're trying to work with them in order to remove it at a more suitable time weather-wise,” said Mark Olsen, General Manager of Retail Facilities for Shoreside Petroleum. “We are requesting a weather extension to move it in the spring. I would hope that they will be reasonable to allow that due to weather conditions. There's also safety concerns as well.”

Olsen said they will not be able to use the existing sign because it would not be eligible under the city ordinances and are in the process of finalizing the design of a new sign that will be placed as far back as the gas pumps, which are the required 150-feet from the centerline of the road.

Olsen said the new sign will be a monument style sign, not in excess of 12-feet high that will only have the business name on it, and the gas prices will be posted on the canopy above the gas pumps.

“It will not be as effective as the existing sign at this point for both safety and customer information,” said Olsen. “Unfortunately, that means the time and temperature display will go away as well.”

Shoreside Petroleum is one of nine businesses located on the Seward Highway between Indian and Bird. In 2006, the businesses received a letter from DOT ordering the removal of any business signs located in the right-of-way.

Since then, one business, the Indian Bible Chalet, has complied.

That leaves six other businesses with signs that will have to be removed: Pepe's Turnagain House, the Indian House Restaurant, the Brown Bear Saloon, Diamond Jim's Liquor Store, Essential 1, and the Bird Ridge Motel.

Some of the businesses have taken a wait and see attitude until the Shoreside Petroleum appeal was settled.

Now with the court's final ruling, businesses are awaiting the DOT's next move.

“We'll look at each case on an individual basis over the winter,” said Allan Hartig, the Property Management Supervisor for the right-of-way section of the DOT. “We have different issues with each business. A lot of things are permittable, such as customer parking.”

Any structure, whether it's a sign, parking lot or building, has to be 150 feet or more from the centerline of the right-of-way. However, the centerline does not always get measured from the center of the road, it is measured from the center of the of the path of the right-of-way, which can vary from the location of the center of the road.

Hartig said that some of the signs are readily removable while others are embedded in large concrete foundations or have electrical wiring.

One sign, Diamond Jim's Liquor Store, was relocated by the state from Portage to its current Indian location after surviving the 1964 earthquake. It is also the only lighted sign with flashing lights on it—small white light bulbs that flicker around the sign.

Mary Lou Redmond, the owner of Diamond Jim's, said she believes her sign could be eligible to be designated a historical sign and vows that she'll duck tape herself to the sign before she lets the DOT tear it down.

Mike Barton, Commissioner of the DOT and Public Facilities, first addressed the issue of business signs encroaching the right-of-way in a letter on Aug. 12, 2005. A team consisting of DOT and Federal and Highway officials toured the Seward Highway as part of a review of the Seward Highway MP 96 to 102 Safety, Roadway and Recreational Improvements Project. They determined that the business signs between the mileposts were in the right of way and that “action was required to clear those encroachments.”

If the state did not comply with federal regulations to maintain the right-of-way and clear encroachments then approximately $22 million received in financial aid from the federal government for the project.

The main reason for clearing the right-of-way of signs, DOT officials say, is to keep the highway safe. Lighted signs, especially those that flicker, said DOT spokesman Rick Feller, may distract drivers.

“If your eye sight is pulled away from the road at critical times is important,” he said. “Safety is our number one concern.”

Feller said DOT employees recently participated in a highway safety presentation, and road safety and hazards of roadside signs was discussed.

Road signs too close to the highway may also pose a risk of a vehicle crashing into them, he said.

Feller said it's important to understand DOT officials do not make the laws, they are simply enforcing the law.

“We have federal codes to follow when building federal highways,” he said.

Olsen argues that by removing the Essential 1 gas station sign, it will create a public safety hazard, not prevent one.

“At night there will be no light at that intersection,” he said. “The sign wouldn't be visible until you were on the property.”

As it stands now, the Essential 1 sign must be moved back to the location of the building and gas pumps.

The absents of a roadside sign will leave the gas station without any visibility to drivers coming down from Anchorage because of a slight hill approaching the entrance to the gas station.

Hartig said the DOT and Municipality of Anchorage will try to assist Essential 1 by putting out public service signage informing the drivers that there's a gas station nearby. He also said they can clear brush to improve visibility and mark the turnout of the entrance to the gas station for drivers coming down from Anchorage.

Aside from safety issues, there is also the issue of aesthetics and maintaining scenic beauty along the highway.

The Seward Highway holds a triple designation: USDA Forest Service Scenic Byway, Alaska Scenic Byway, and All-American Road. With these designations come strict requirements of the Federal Highway Beautification Act regarding road projects, roadside signs and buildings.

However, for business owners in Indian and Bird, a sign along the highway may mean the difference between succeeding or going out of business. Without roadside signs, the summer tourists that many of the businesses rely on to stay profitable, may drive by without ever noticing their businesses.

“It will impact us significantly,” said Olsen about the lack of a visible sign along the roadway. “How much is still to be determined. Especially in the summertime when people who don't know we're here will drive by and miss it. I hope the local commuters who know us will retain their loyalty. But I still think the loss is greater than the gain.”