Wisconsin signage question

[invincor]

I have a question about signage along a WI state highway.  Which government entity should I approach about getting official signage put up to direct traffic to our town's baseball field?  Is it the State DOT?  County level?  If so, which one?  I will explain the details...

The main baseball stadium here in River Falls is run by a nonprofit entity that I volunteer for.  Last year I pointed out to the board that there isn't any directional signage at the exit ramp off of WIS 35/65 that informs drivers how to turn to get to the field or even that it's there.  This ramp is for CTH M and Division Street.
It's called Division Street because the county line between Pierce and St Croix counties runs straight down the middle of it, dividing the city between them.

Anyway, our chairman tried to get Pierce County to put up a sign on the highway, and they returned the check to us saying we needed to send it to St Croix.  He then sent it to St Croix and they sent it back saying it needed to be sent to Pierce.  And I'm wondering if either should really be doing it since this is a state highway anyway.

Does anyone here know who we should be talking to about this? 

[brad2971]

I have a question about signage along a WI state highway.  Which government entity should I approach about getting official signage put up to direct traffic to our town's baseball field?  Is it the State DOT?  County level?  If so, which one?  I will explain the details...

The main baseball stadium here in River Falls is run by a nonprofit entity that I volunteer for.  Last year I pointed out to the board that there isn't any directional signage at the exit ramp off of WIS 35/65 that informs drivers how to turn to get to the field or even that it's there.  This ramp is for CTH M and Division Street.
It's called Division Street because the county line between Pierce and St Croix counties runs straight down the middle of it, dividing the city between them.

Anyway, our chairman tried to get Pierce County to put up a sign on the highway, and they returned the check to us saying we needed to send it to St Croix.  He then sent it to St Croix and they sent it back saying it needed to be sent to Pierce.  And I'm wondering if either should really be doing it since this is a state highway anyway.

Does anyone here know who we should be talking to about this? 

May want to talk to the city of River Falls about this. Many cities big and small in that part of the country are into "wayfare" signage, denoting things like the baseball stadium, downtown, the hospital, things like that.

[mgk920]

I have a question about signage along a WI state highway.  Which government entity should I approach about getting official signage put up to direct traffic to our town's baseball field?  Is it the State DOT?  County level?  If so, which one?  I will explain the details...

The main baseball stadium here in River Falls is run by a nonprofit entity that I volunteer for.  Last year I pointed out to the board that there isn't any directional signage at the exit ramp off of WIS 35/65 that informs drivers how to turn to get to the field or even that it's there.  This ramp is for CTH M and Division Street.
It's called Division Street because the county line between Pierce and St Croix counties runs straight down the middle of it, dividing the city between them.

Anyway, our chairman tried to get Pierce County to put up a sign on the highway, and they returned the check to us saying we needed to send it to St Croix.  He then sent it to St Croix and they sent it back saying it needed to be sent to Pierce.  And I'm wondering if either should really be doing it since this is a state highway anyway.

Does anyone here know who we should be talking to about this? 

May want to talk to the city of River Falls about this. Many cities big and small in that part of the country are into "wayfare" signage, denoting things like the baseball stadium, downtown, the hospital, things like that.

Agreed, talk with the Department of Public Works at the City of River Falls.  Since it is also a state highway, WisDOT might have to give their assent, too.  Good luck.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

I have a question about signage along a WI state highway.  Which government entity should I approach about getting official signage put up to direct traffic to our town's baseball field?  Is it the State DOT?  County level?  If so, which one?  I will explain the details...

The main baseball stadium here in River Falls is run by a nonprofit entity that I volunteer for.  Last year I pointed out to the board that there isn't any directional signage at the exit ramp off of WIS 35/65 that informs drivers how to turn to get to the field or even that it's there.  This ramp is for CTH M and Division Street.
It's called Division Street because the county line between Pierce and St Croix counties runs straight down the middle of it, dividing the city between them.

Anyway, our chairman tried to get Pierce County to put up a sign on the highway, and they returned the check to us saying we needed to send it to St Croix.  He then sent it to St Croix and they sent it back saying it needed to be sent to Pierce.  And I'm wondering if either should really be doing it since this is a state highway anyway.

Does anyone here know who we should be talking to about this? 

May want to talk to the city of River Falls about this. Many cities big and small in that part of the country are into "wayfare" signage, denoting things like the baseball stadium, downtown, the hospital, things like that.

Agreed, talk with the Department of Public Works at the City of River Falls.  Since it is also a state highway, WisDOT might have to give their assent, too.  Good luck.

The city will probably need to put wayfaring signage at the bottom of the exit ramp. I doubt WIDOT will allow it on the highway. They have pretty strict guidelines about what they will and will not allow.

[invincor]

The chairman apparently talked to the city of River Falls first, and they said they couldn't do anything on the highway, and that he should talk to the counties or the state.

[on_wisconsin]

WisDOT sites that may be relevant:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/directional-info-wayfinding.aspx
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/directional-info-arrow.aspx

WisDOT NW Region signing contact: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/signing-contacts.aspx#nw

[SEWIGuy]

WisDOT sites that may be relevant:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/directional-info-wayfinding.aspx
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/directional-info-arrow.aspx

WisDOT NW Region signing contact: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/signing-contacts.aspx#nw

That page says as far as location:

"Location
On highway right of way
In readily apparent urban developed areas
On conventional highways only"

My understanding from the OP is that this is not a "conventional highway" but a divided highway with exit ramp.

[JREwing78]

I presume you're talking about the baseball fields near Hoffman Park, off Hwy 35 @ Division St?

Ask the signing contact specifically about one of these signs:
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/real-estate/outdoor-adv/directional-info-generator.aspx

[invincor]

Yes, it's the baseball field near Hoffman Park.

I'm in email contact with someone from the Eau Claire DOT office about this.  He says to qualify for them to take charge of the signage we need to both a) attract more than 20,000 people per year and b) have 2,000 or more seats.   We attract way more than 20,000 in a year if you total all our events up, but our permanent seating is more like 500 (which we can add temporary rented bleachers to when needed, which we have done).  If they stick close to both rules, then I think we're going to be stuck here.  We have a turf field now, so we attract a lot of rentals from long distances in the spring when grass fields are still covered in snow or the grass hasn't grown in yet.  We even had a team from all the way in South Dakota bus 8 hours to use our field for a "home" game last year.

There is wayfaring signage around town on the city streets to get people to Hoffman Park, but there's nothing directly off the ramp from WIS 35/65.

The highway is 4-lane divided from Hudson to the bypass around River Falls, but then reduces to 2-lanes shortly before the exit I'm talking about.  It used to be a single jug-handle type.  Northbound traffic could (and still can) turn right onto a ramp that delivers you down to CTH M/Division Street.  A right turn then takes you to Hoffman Park and the baseball fields almost at once. (a left from here goes to the hospital). Southbound traffic had to stop and try to turn left onto that ramp, and there was a high number of accidents due to this, including a rear-end collision I witnessed during a baseball game where we paused the game and people ran up the slope to see if they needed help. 

This has since been redesigned so that now there's another ramp on the other side for the southbound traffic to make a direct right turn onto, and then it has another right turn ramp off of that that takes you straight into the baseball park.  This reconstruction also ate up our south side parking lot, but that's another issue. 

[JREwing78]

I'm in email contact with someone from the Eau Claire DOT office about this.  He says to qualify for them to take charge of the signage we need to both a) attract more than 20,000 people per year and b) have 2,000 or more seats.   We attract way more than 20,000 in a year if you total all our events up, but our permanent seating is more like 500 (which we can add temporary rented bleachers to when needed, which we have done).  If they stick close to both rules, then I think we're going to be stuck here.

Is he saying that they won't allow posting it at all, or that they won't post it for free?

Perhaps the Community Wayfinding signs are going to be the best bet?