The City of Roanoke appreciates this opportunity to comment upon the draft regulations for the Comprehensive Roadside Management Program that have been developed by your advisory committee as a result of Senate Bill 260.  We are strong supporters of initiatives that would enhance the appearance of major transportation corridors and offer the following comments for your further consideration:

1.  Understanding that the City of Roanoke would be a permittee, we wish to ensure that regulations would not preclude a non-profit organization from receiving the donations made toward this initiative, if we chose to handle the funds in this manner.

2.  We are pleased that interstate interchanges have been included among the locations eligible for landscaping.  We note that the remainder of interstate highway right-of-way located between interchanges is not included and hereby urge the inclusion of all interstate right-of-way for landscpaing eligibility, thereby further increasing available opportunity sites that could further reduce future VDOT maintenance responsibilities.

3.  Draft regulation provides that the site must "not be scheduled for future construction as defined within the department's current six-year improvement plan which would conflict with the activities proposed on the project".  We wish to clarify that preliminary engineering and/or right-of-way phases scheduled within the current six-year plan would not infer a timeline for a future construction schedule nor cause the department to deny such approval.

4.  We support the specifications for the acknowldgement signs and respectfully suggest that the department ensure that the size of the signs will reasonably allow lettering sizes that can be easily read by motorists traveling at speeds appropriate for the adjoining roadway.

5.  We suggest that the background color options not be limited to the four (4) identified in the regulations.

6.  We urge the department to delete the requirement regarding sign placement along controlled access primary and secondary highways that states "no greater than one acknowledgement sign structure per direction per one-half mile of main traveled way" in an effort to not lose opportunity sites for landscaping.

7.  Acknowledgement signs that are implemented as a result of contributions by sponsors toward new planting installations should also be available to sponsors that provide toward maintenance of planting installations, using similar threshold dollar amounts.

Thank you for your careful consideration of these aspects of this program.