They're up! And London's testing out new rules around election signs

And so it begins.

The candidates have been announced, the writs have been dropped and the field is wide open.

Political campaigning is in full force as local hopefuls vying for a provincial seat have started canvassing the city knocking on doors, making phone calls and putting up signs that are hard to miss.

Large stationary billboards are popping up, saturating London's green spaces that are only likelylooking to become more congested as the race continues, city officials say.

Last year, the city passed a new election sign bylaw that increases campaigning restrictions to avoid cluttering up city streets and intersections.

"We have these rules for safety. We have to keep signs a certain distance from the sidewalks and roadway to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles have safe passage," said Sarah Corman, manager of licensing and elections.

With that, officials are keeping a watchful eye on sign scofflaws.

And so can you, with the city now monitoring complaints.

So, what are the rules?

The city's bracing itself for the looming provincial election in June, followed by the municipal one in October. And the new rules will affect both.

The rules prevent candidates from placing signs too close to intersections or walkways. Signs from the same candidate have to be a certain distance apart in order to avoid any clutter.

The sign:

• Cannot be larger than six square metres
• Cannot be placed within three metres of a roadway
• Must be placed three and eight metres from a roadway are restricted to a height of 1.8 metres
• Placed beyond eight metres cannot be taller than four metres
• Of the same candidate must be at least 10 metres apart
• Cannot be mounted on a tree, fence, wall, gate or utility pole

Officials also shortened the time period of signs put up for municipal candidates so there's no overlap with provincial ones.

How to complain

Corman said the top reported complaint in years past has been over duration of time a sign is erected.

The complaints may vary, but Corman said the candidates have had to get accustomed to the new rules.

"If we get a complaint we try to reach out to the candidate first. I don't believe they intentionally violate the rules. There are new rules applied here and everyone is learning as we're going. We give them a chance to either move the sign or remove it from the spot that it's placed. We give them a period of time to do that," she said.

If candidates don't comply, then their sign is removed.

If you have a complaint, you can call elections office (519) 661-4535 or email them at elections@london.ca