NORFOLK
Bill Elliott moves along side Little Creek Road on his royal-blue motorized scooter at 4 mph, scanning telephone poles and the grassy areas between the sidewalks and curbs.
After several blocks, he finds what he's looking for. It's stuck to a pole at the Halprin Drive intersection: a sign advertising a room for rent.
Elliott pulls onto the grass and drives the scooter into just the right position so he can stand up long enough to snatch the sign. He rips it off the pole, looks it over, then plunks it into the basket on the front of the scooter.
In a little more than two years, the 69-year-old has repeated the scene "hundreds, multi-hundreds" of times, he said.
The mostly homemade signs that spur him to action advertise yard sales, lawn services, concrete work and the like, he said.
"I don't like just sitting home 24-7 watching TV," said Elliott, who lives with his wife on 11th Bay Street, "so I go out when I don't have an errand just to go out and pick up trash, pick up aluminum cans, pull signs - just kind of help things look better," Elliott said.
He participated in Norfolk's 30-minute class, conducted by the Department of Public Works, in which volunteers learn how to spot and remove illegal signs.
Most signs that weren't put on public land by the city are illegal.
Signs close to the road pose a hazard to pedestrians and motorists, said Lonnie Tebow, Norfolk's superintendent of traffic operations Public works crews routinely remove signs around the city and will make a special trip if signs are too high, heavy or bulky for residents. City crews remove an average of about 600 signs a month, the city says.
These days, Elliott is avoiding political placards. "If it comes down to me not being 100 percent right, I won't touch it," he said.
He's had few conflicts, but people have gotten huffy at times, he said. Usually, he just shows them his city certification card and asks them to remove the sign.
"A lot of signs are put out on the weekends because city employees are not working on the weekends and people know that," Elliott said.
On his recent trip down Little Creek Road, Elliott found only one illegal sign, which he took to his home and threw in the trash.
He has problems walking and said he needs a double hip transplant, but he plans to continue his patrol.
"There's always something to do," Elliott said. "And I can do my share."
Cindy Clayton, (757) 446-2377, cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com
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Point is.....
He WAS on the road. And I rather doubt that he is on the sidewalks ALL the time. If you ARE traveling in a road...ANY road...and are in or, in this case, on a slow moving vehicle....the LAW requires SOME sort of lights or signs.
PERIOD!!!!
Thank you
Thank you Mr. Elliott for being involved in your neighborhood. For those of you that don't know. Mr. Elliott is riding what is called Rascal, not a scooter. It is a handicapped device to make his life easier and doesn't required special placards on it. In the video, he was way off the road, unless you choose to drive on the sidewalk or emergency lanes.. I thank you Mr. Elliott for caring enough in your own community for trying to make a difference. For those ignorant enough to not appreciate your work, ignore them.
You're correct.....
NO slow vehicle sign....NO flags of ANY kind. Although he IS doing a half-way decent service. I have to stop and wonder just what kind of traffic hazard he poses.
I ride a bike and am REQUIRED to have reflectors. I also run FLASHING head and tail lights. Along with flags that are 6 feet up so that people can see me.
Maybe he needs to rethink the safety issue.
GOOD LUCK BILL!!!! And stay safe out there!!!!
He's crazy
Driving around on one of those small scooters without any safety markings or flags and on Little Creek to boot? He's got to be one crazy, lucky man not have been ran over by one of the drivers around here.
wow
i am sure we all sleep better at night since the sign rambo is out , pulling everyones signs , i wonder if he knows that the power poles are not city, but va power property , everyone go post a sign so this guy will have something to do tommmorrow , maybe he should go to walmart and get himself a hula hoop , he should be careful though the norfolk police will lock you up for anything these days ,
So.....
This is what Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is doing now that he is semi retired from NASCAR? Whooda thunk it?
Bill Elliott moves along side Little Creek Road
They need this guy in the North End of the Beach for the No Parking Signs put up by the "New Rich"
You would be welcome in my
You would be welcome in my neighborhood anytime. How great would our neighborhoods look with more guys like this?
Lordy, Lordy. . . . .
I guess I won't know who is turning 40 anymore :-)
Sign Man
It would be great if he could remove the vagrants and others that are begging for money at intersections and along highways.
These people have become a major distraction to drivers trying to pay attention to traffic.
Sign Puller
I am glad this man removes illegal sighs on public land. Oh, wait! Is this man operating a motorized vehicle on a public way? I did not notice a slow moving vehicle sign on the back of his chair. He should try to comply the Virginia Safety code before he targets people advertising yard sales. I think the political signs all over the place are the ones that need to be taken down. However, I believe the real police need to ticket this person until he complies with the law.
Just for fun
"Some people make a living putting those things up."
When you see a service advertised o nthose signs you should call and have them give you an estimate. Then do not use them. I bet you if a contractor does 10 estimates in a neighborhood and gets no work they will adjust their marketing.
Can't this guy find
Can't this guy find something better to do with his time than policing yard sale signs?
Thanks, Mr. Elliot! Please
Thanks, Mr. Elliot! Please be careful out there.
Thank You
Thank you Mr. Elliot for volunteering in the community instead of sitting on your rump complaining! The "owners" of those signs should just advertise in the newspaper, TV and radio instead of cluttering the streets, sidewalks and medians. The city of Norfolk needs more people to become ACTIVE in thier community instead of waiting for the next guy to do it.
Yawn
This guy has nothing better to do than grab signs off of poles?
I don't think he's doing it to make the neighborhood look better.
He's doing it so he can get a thrill out of being in control. Much like meter-maids do.
It's obvious VB and Chesapeake don't allow this!
All you have to do is drive down any main road, such as Greenbriar Parkway, and its as if it is an advertizers convention. Pull up the signs and fine the polluters. There is visual pollution, too!
yard sale signs
I'm a big yard sale fan, and don't see anything wrong with those signs especially if they are the day(s) of the actual sale, but I see them everywhere after the sale is over and for weeks thereafter. It's part of the irresponsibility of so many people. If you are going to put them up, then always take them down.
Not rocket science
I, too would volunteer if VB had such a program. Instead of throwing them in the trash, why not a $500 fine for each sign? Shouldn't be too hard to find the perps...their phone number is on the sign! I do wonder how the ones 30 feet up on a phone pole get there.
sign removal
I have had several run ins with this individual, he seems to interpret the sign law to his own satisfaction. He kind of picks and chooses whose sign he wants to take. I have one of those illegal sign removal cards also, and we have butted heads several times. Not all signs he has taken are illegal.
Are you kidding
The only road hazard i see is this man.
Thanks for reporting news
Thanks for reporting news Va. Pilot
Illegal Signs
Why doesn't Virginia Beach train and certify volunteers like him? I'd volunteer. I think it's a good cause and worthwhile. I guess Virginia Beach city council and school board are afraid someone will remove all their illegal signs.....they'd have none left!
Election Year ?
...............he's gonna be one busy man.................
choices
"so I go out when I don't have an errand just to go out and pick up trash, pick up aluminum cans, pull signs - just kind of help things look better," Elliott said.
So, you can help keep your neighborhood clean like Mr. Elliott. Or you can sit at your computer and make fun of the handicapped man that is trying to make his neighborhood a better place. I can already see what some of you choose....
He's the real traffic hazard...
Telling from the picture, the real traffic hazard is this guy riding a putt-putt scooter down a busy commercial street. I have never had an illegal sign pull out in front of me or make me swerve in order to avoid it. However, I have had to swerve to avoid old folks on these scooters as they ride the median going down Virginia Beach Blvd. I applaud his efforts to clean up the streets, but keep your scooter off the road.
Always wondered what a hall
Always wondered what a hall monitor did when they grew up.
illegal is illegal
Some people make a living putting those things up.
Some people need to find a legal way to make a living. I 'collect' illegal signs when they appear in my neighborhood. I understand that for many people it's inconvenient to obey some laws - that's OK, I'll continue to clean up after you. Learn the laws, then follow them. It's really not that difficult.
A do-gooder who needs to get a life
Some people make a living putting those things up.
Well......
As some of these signs ARE illegal I can certainly understand why they need to be removed. Might I suggest that the next time someone want to have a garage sale and needs a sign they might want to check with a close property owner to put up a sign.
I have to wonder though......if this guys throws a hissy-fit when the Cub Scouts are standing holding signs fr their car wash?????
Some people just don't have better things to do with their time.