A friend of mine spotted a small roadsign on her way up to Youngstown State University a couple months ago. It says ‘no spray,’ and…that’s it. It’s too crude to be talking about public urination, and you can hardly help spraying rain water off the road when it’s pouring outside and you’re traveling at a speed above, say, 15 mph. What in the hell is this sign condeming?
Maybe cropdusting? Is there farmland nearby?
My WAG would be that it involves spraying for mosquitoes or other pesticides. There might be protected wildlife or vegetation nearby.
I know when I was a child we could hear the mosquito spray trucks drive by at least once a week.
My WAG: Around here, the highway department has trucks that spray herbicides to suppress vegetation growth on the shoulder of the road. They don’t want herbicide sprayed at those locations, because of desirable crops, wetlands, etc.
That’s true in my area as well. One thing I’ve heard (sorry no cite) :::cough::cough:: is that the ‘please do not spray’ sign is very popular with marijuana growers in or around their property if they live in an area that sprays in summer for vegitation.
Not so wild, nor ass-like. Back when I was a kid, our local county road commission came up with the same bright idea to spray the roadsides so they wouldn’t have to mow down weeds. Since a lot of people in the county were either farmers (with crops in the field) or earth-lovin’ folk (this being the 70s and all), the plan caused an uproar. Finally, bowing to public pressure, the Board of Comissioners allowed property owners to opt out of the herbicide plan, by posting “NO SPRAY” signs along the road. That summer the roadsides (at least around our house) were just peppered with “NO SPRAY” signs, as they were the next year. As I recall, the herbicide plan was quietly dropped after a few years, and as far as I know the county’s been using old-fashioned mowers ever since.
I would be enormously surprised if the sign mentioned in the OP isn’t up for the same reason.
For some odd reason, the forms to opt into these no-spray zones are all over the web. Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta, Idaho, King County, WA, etc.
Looks like the basic idea is that you sign this document, which states that you agree to handle all “noxious weeds” on your property. Then you are allowed to put up “No Spray” signs and the county will abide by them and not use herbicide on your property.
A significant concern mainly for organic farmers, I would imagine. You never know where the wind will take an airborne spray.
That’s true in my area as well. One thing I’ve heard (sorry no cite) :::cough::cough:: is that the ‘please do not spray’ sign is very popular with marijuana growers in or around their property if they live in an area that sprays in summer for vegitation.
Ooops. Mods - you can delete that last post by me. It posted twice - computer problems
A freeway near me has one of these signs next to a big patch of wildflowers. I guess that they’re concerned that spraying might kill the flowers.
Thanks, guys…there’s not a ton of farmland directly around, but the wildflowers/nature lovers theory seems to fit.
Why would a highway department NOT want vegetation growing by the sides of the roads? 
When I become King of Illinois, the first thing I’m going to do is have my Highway Department plant the tallest, thickest hedges imaginable in the ditches along every inch of highway in Illinois.
Why, you ask? Two reasons.
[ul]
[li]The thick vegetation will provide a natural barrier against drifting snow blowing in from the vacant fields on either side of the road.[/li][li]Deer might think twice about trying jump/crawl through the bushes and thus, fewer deer running out into the roads.[/li][/ul]
Is there some safety issue I’m overlooking?
The obvious problem I can see with your plan is that the state usually doesn’t own the land along the road, they just have a right-of-way. I doubt they have the right to plant anything.
More directly, one of those forms spells out the reason you have to control the vegetation: “so traffic visibility is not hindered and the vegetation does not encroach into the roadway surface.” A well maintained hedge might not have the second problem, but it would cause serious visibility issues on curves.
Here again, I’m WAGing - but I assume it’s to improve visibility, especially for animals that might be lurking on the side of the road ready to dash into your path. Also, by eliminating vegetation that provides cover or that they graze on, you discourage critters from hanging out by the side of the road in the fist place. I’m speaking here as a guy who’s had more than his fair share of collisions with deer/antelope/sheep/etc.
The disturbed ground in the borrow ditches here tends to produce noxious weeds rather than desirable species. Tall, thick hedges aren’t an option in the 6" precip zone I live in. Might be feasible in Illinois - but I’ve seen deer move through pretty thick vegetation.