Just days after an outcry by the National Caves Association and local businesses and municipal officials, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission announced it would keep its current highway signage policy in place, at least for now.
"The Commission announced yesterday (Thursday) that it would not be changing the current policy," said Missouri Department of Transportation engineer Bob Lynch. "But we will continue to look at other ways to simplify our sign policy."
For several days, controversy swirled around a proposal by MoDOT to rework its policy on Major Traffic Generator Signage (MTGS).
Under MoDOT's current policy, traffic is directed to publicly-owned attractions, such as state parks, via large brown signs placed near highway exits. While traffic is directed to privately-owned attractions, such as show caves, via large blue signs near highway exits.
In order to qualify for the large directional signs, the attraction owners and/or managers must enter into a contract with MoDOT to have the signs erected and maintained throughout the length of the contract.
Other privately-owned attractions, that do not have a contract with MoDOT, may contract with a private vendor to have their logo placed on a sign that collectively lists all the attractions available at that particular highway exit.
In the Lake Area, Bridal Cave held a 10-year contract with MoDOT to have one of the large blue signs placed near a Highway 5 Expressway exit north of Camdenton. A number of other attractions have contracted with the private vendor to have their logos placed on one of the collective exit signs located along both Highway 5 and U.S. 54.
Under the terms of the proposed policy changes, only the largest privately-owned attractions, those that draw in excess of 1 million visitors per year, could have contracted with MoDOT for the large blue signs. All other attractions would have been required to contract with the private vendor to have their logo placed on a smaller sign.
MoDOT posted the proposed policy change on its website in mid December giving the public until Jan. 15 to comment before the changes were presented to the Highway Commission for finalization.
However, it wasn't until after Jan. 1 that the National Caves Association (an organization representing privately-owned show caves) began contacting the press about the proposal.
Last week, Steve Thompson, general manager of Bridal Cave, sent out a similar letter to the press protesting the change and encouraging the public to urge MoDOT to keep the policy as it currently stands.
During the Jan. 6 Board of Aldermen meeting, Camdenton city officials issued a statement saying, "The move (policy change) would eliminate many of the signs found on Missouri highways that point motorists to local landmarks," and urged the public to join them in protesting the change.