West Philly Local readers are reporting that several “bandit signs” were recently nailed onto trees and utility poles on the 4800 block of Larchwood and, possibly, on other blocks. Here’s what someone who lives on the block wrote us:
“I walked outside this morning and saw this poster nailed into a tree [see photo; we have blurred the phone number on the sign]. Looking down the block there was one on every tree and pole down both sides of the street. We can’t get them out as they are reinforced with nails made by God… Do you know if there is anything we can do about it except for call and tell this electrician off?”
Yes, signs like this one are illegal in Philadelphia, and you can report them to the Streets Department or call 311 (or tweet to @philly311). The signs on the 4800 block of Larchwood have already been reported, and the Streets Department said they’re investigating. One way that the city has dealt with illegal signs has been using a robo-call system.
“When we find these signs, we put them on the robo-dialer, and they get a phone call every 15 minutes until they take the sign down,” then City Commissioner David Perri told CBS Philly in 2014.
Here’s also an unofficial video on how to remove them:
May 5th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
They are all over the trees of the 4900 block of Hazel too…
May 5th, 2016 at 1:48 pm
The signs appeared overnight, Monday night into Tuesday morning. I called 311 and sent an email with photos of signs lining the streets. I even called the phone number but there was no answer so I don’t know that robocalls help much. I took down the signs in front of my house and had to pull nails out of the trees. I left the others up a day to see if the city would investigate. By Wednesday they were down.
May 5th, 2016 at 6:26 pm
I called that number over and over, just to make sure they learn their lesson.
May 5th, 2016 at 6:30 pm
The number, by the way, is 267-593-7138. Make it ring off the hook, internet people!
May 6th, 2016 at 8:54 pm
I always remove anything stapled, nailed or tacked to a tree. The only exceptions are “lost pet” announcements.
May 10th, 2016 at 6:32 pm
Are the awful fliers that are stuck on car windshields considered Bandit Signs, too? Because I’ve had to pull (often wet) “Wayne’s Garage” fliers off my car on a bi-weekly basis. They’re all over the streets every other week, too, because no one wants to put their stupid fliers in their car.