In the past four weeks, Sewickley Township crews have had to replace 23 stop signs and 39 street signs -- almost twice the number of signs that went missing last year.
Sewickley Township Supervisor Joe Kerber said sign thefts in the past month have escalated beyond normal vandalism, and they cost taxpayers.
"It's to the point where I would call it an epidemic," Kerber said. "This is getting bizarre."
Kerber said he believes the approaching Halloween holiday and a renewed interest in scrap metal have prompted the thefts.
In 2010, the township replaced 12 stop signs and 21 road signs.
Officials said the latest vandalism presents a safety hazard that has cost more than $3,000. Replacing a stop sign and its post costs $87. Street signs cost $29 each.
Some street signs become novelty decorations, especially the one designating Slaughter Hollow Road outside Herminie, the site of a former slaughterhouse, Kerber said.
"They're in somebody's garage or somebody's game room," he said.
The Slaughter Hollow Road sign typically has to be replaced twice every October. It was stolen four times in the past two weeks.
Shawn Morton, supervisor for Sewickley Township Community Ambulance Service, said most crew members are familiar with township roads even without signs, but the thefts could pose a problem in finding private lanes. In an emergency, a few extra minutes in an emergency could impact a patient's outcome, he said.
"Anytime a street sign is missing or the address isn't posted properly, it always causes problems," he said. "Fortunately, in today's day and age, GPS is a wonderful thing, but there can be problems with the signal or updated road names. GPS is not a foolproof system."
Ordinance officer Dean Zimmerman said after a stop sign at the intersection of Guffey-Rillton and Mars Hill roads was stolen, multiple drivers reported that cars drove through the intersection without stopping, but no one was injured.
"If you have somebody that's not familiar with the area and they go through a stop sign, they could get killed," Kerber said.
The township keeps about 100 signs in storage, including about three dozen stop signs and four to five copies of street signs for well-traveled roads or accident-prone intersections, Kerber said.
"It's become a more frequent cost for us," he said. Some roads remain unmarked until a new order arrives.
The township has made about twice as many trips as usual to a county-contracted sign maker in Blairsville. Additional labor costs are incurred to replace the signs.
Zimmerman said one stop sign was recovered Monday morning in Herminie, thanks to a tip from a resident. State police at Greensburg were called in to investigate.
Police may have a difficult time prosecuting the thefts since there is nothing to distinguish a stop sign from Sewickley Township from anywhere else, Zimmerman said.
Laws prevent scrapyards from accepting stop signs unless they're from an official source. Kerber said thieves will bend the metal, making the distinct octagons unrecognizable.
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