To the editor:

I’ve been wondering about something. More and more all the time, I see those small advertising signs for businesses and the promotion of business events, the kind that stick with wires into the ground, all over town. My understanding is that we have an ordinance against such advertising in Lawrence, for good reason. Without the ordinance, clearly they would be everywhere, cluttering up our beautiful city.

I imagine that our local police officers are the ones charged with responding to ordinance violations or at very least should be proactive in reporting them to the appropriate office? I hope it is not the public’s responsibility to report them every time they appear, especially when those who work in the office responsible for addressing ordinance violations and certainly police officers, too, see them often themselves when driving around town.

Obviously, they are put in the ground at key intersections so they will be noticed by a large number of people. Right now, there are several in town that have been in place for weeks.

If we have an ordinance in place, shouldn’t there be a reasonable expectation by the public that the ordinance will be enforced in a timely manner, especially when the violations are so obvious?