Chapter 86

86.195(2)(ag)29. 29. STH 64 from the state line in St. Croix County to the easternmost junction with USH 63 east of New Richmond.

86.195(2)(ag)30. 30. USH 78 from I 90 south of Portage to USH 51 north of Portage.

86.195(2)(ag)31. 31. USH 141 from I 43 northwest of Green Bay to the state line in Marinette County.

86.195(2)(ag)32. 32. USH 151 from STH 11 south of Dickeyville to CTH “WH” northeast of Fond du Lac in Fond du Lac County.

86.195(2)(ag)33. 33. STH 441 between the Roland Kampo Bridge and I 41 in the city of Appleton, designated as the Tri-County Expressway, in Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties.

86.195(2)(ag)34. 34. USH 53 from I 90 at the city of Onalaska to STH 35 north of Holmen.

86.195(2)(ag)35. 35. USH 14 from USH 12/18 at Madison to STH 138 at Oregon.

86.195(2)(ag)36. 36. USH 12 from CTH “P” southeast of the city of Whitewater in Walworth County to Tri-County Road in Rock County.

86.195(2)(b) (b)

86.195(2)(b)1. 1. Subject to sub. (4) (c), upon the request of any person, the department may authorize the installation and maintenance of a business sign on an existing specific information sign.

86.195(2)(b)3. 3. The person requesting installation of a business sign shall provide, at his or her expense, a business sign which meets specifications established by the department.

86.195(2)(b)4. 4. Nothing in this section prohibits a person requesting installation of a business sign under sub. (3) (e) from advertising or displaying information on any sign under s. 84.30, subject to any limitation on such signs under s. 84.30.

86.195(2)(c) (c) A person who requests the erection or installation of a sign under par. (a) or (b) shall pay to the department an annual permit fee of $40 to cover administrative costs and the cost of inspection of the signs erected or installed under this section. In addition, the person requesting a sign under par. (a) or (b) shall pay a fee for the manufacture, installation and maintenance of the specific information sign and the installation and maintenance of the business sign.

86.195(2)(d) (d) The department shall contract for the erection, installation and maintenance of signs under this section. The department may require the contractor to provide liability insurance for purposes of this section.

86.195(3) (3) Motorist services. Specific information signs may only include business signs for the following categories of motorist services: “GAS”, “FOOD”, “LODGING”, “CAMPING”, and “ATTRACTION”. To qualify for display on a specific information sign a business must meet the following standards for the respective category of motorist service:

86.195(3)(a) (a) “GAS” shall have:

86.195(3)(a)1. 1. Vehicle services including fuel, oil and water;

86.195(3)(a)2. 2. Restroom facilities and drinking water;

86.195(3)(a)3. 3. Continuous operation of at least 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for freeways and expressways, and continuous operation of at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for other highways, provided automotive fuel is available under the energy fuel allocation program established under P.L. 93-159; and

86.195(3)(a)4. 4. Public telephone.

86.195(3)(b) (b) “FOOD” shall have:

86.195(3)(b)1. 1. Licensing or approval, where required:

86.195(3)(b)2. 2. Regular operation at least 5 days a week, opening for service no later than 10 a.m. and remaining open until at least 7 p.m.;

86.195(3)(b)3. 3. Fifty percent of the sales price, as defined in s. 77.51 (15b), of the business is from the sale of food and food ingredients, as defined in s. 77.51 (3t), that are taxable under subch. III of ch. 77 or that are bakery items produced by the seller; and

86.195(3)(b)4. 4. Public telephone.

86.195(3)(c) (c) “LODGING” shall have:

86.195(3)(c)1. 1. Licensing or approval, where required;

86.195(3)(c)2. 2. Adequate sleeping accommodations; and

86.195(3)(c)3. 3. Public telephone.

86.195(3)(d) (d) “CAMPING” shall have:

86.195(3)(d)1. 1. Licensing or approval, where required;

86.195(3)(d)2. 2. Adequate parking accommodations; and

86.195(3)(d)3. 3. Modern sanitary facilities and drinking water.

86.195(3)(e) (e) “ATTRACTION” shall have all of the following:

86.195(3)(e)1. 1. A primary purpose of providing amusement, historical, cultural, or leisure activities to the public.

86.195(3)(e)2. 2. Regional significance. For purposes of this subdivision, an agricultural research station owned or managed by a university has regional significance regardless of the number of visitors to the station.

86.195(3)(e)3. 3. Adequate parking accommodations.

86.195(4) (4) Location.

86.195(4)(a) (a) Specific information signs shall be located so as to take advantage of natural terrain, to have the least impact on the scenic environment and to avoid visual conflict with other signs within the highway right-of-way.

86.195(4)(b) (b) The relative location of successive specific information signs near a particular intersection shall be in the following order, as seen by the traveling public: “ATTRACTION”, “CAMPING”, “LODGING”, “FOOD” and “GAS”.

86.195(4)(c) (c) No business sign under sub. (3) (e) may be erected or maintained on a highway for a business that is more directly reached by any other highway on which specific information signs are authorized under sub. (2). No more than one business sign under sub. (3) (e) may be erected or maintained on a highway, for each direction of travel, for the same business.

86.195(5) (5) Criteria.

86.195(5)(a) (a) Distance to services.

86.195(5)(a)1. 1. Except as provided in subds. 2. to 4., a motorist service may not be located more than 3 miles from the federal-aid primary or secondary highway on which the specific information sign for the motorist service is erected.

86.195(5)(a)2. 2. Except as provided in subds. 3. and 4., if no business in the category of motorist service is available within the 3-mile limit, the limit in subd. 1. may be extended in 3-mile increments to a maximum distance of 15 miles from the federal-aid primary or secondary highway until a business in the category of motorist service is reached.

86.195(5)(a)3. 3. Except as provided in subd. 4., if no business in the category of motorist service is available within the 3-mile limit, the limit in subd. 1. may, on or after May 8, 1990, be extended to a maximum distance of not more than 5 miles from the highway.

86.195(5)(a)4. 4. A business in the category of motorist service specified in sub. (3) (e) may not be located more than 30 miles from the federal-aid primary or secondary highway on which the specific information sign for the motorist service is erected.

86.195(5)(b) (b) Number of signs permitted. No more than 4 specific information signs for each category of motorist service may be erected along an approach to an interchange or intersection. No specific information sign may contain more than 6 business signs.

86.195(5)(c) (c) Conformity with discrimination laws. Each business identified as a motorist service on a specific information sign shall, as a condition of eligibility for erection, installation and maintenance of a sign under this section, give written assurance to the department that the business conforms with all applicable laws concerning the provisions of public accommodations without regard to race, religion, color, sex or national origin.

86.195(6) (6) Composition.

86.195(6)(a) (a) Specific information signs and business signs shall have a blue reflectorized background with a white reflectorized border and white reflectorized legend. Sign panels may be illuminated.

86.195(6)(b) (b) The design, lettering, spacing and size of specific information signs and business signs shall conform with the federal standards on specific information signs adopted under 23 USC 131 (f) on November 1, 1982 and with the manual of uniform traffic control devices adopted by the department under s. 84.02 (4) (e).

86.195(7) (7) Exit ramp signs. If motorist services are not visible from the ramp terminal at single exit interchanges on freeways and expressways, specific information signs shall be installed along the ramp or at the ramp terminal and may be provided along the crossroad.

86.195(8) (8) Seasonal services. Any sign for a “LODGING” or “CAMPING” motorist service which is operated on a seasonal basis shall be removed or covered during off seasons. The cost of removal and replacement or covering and uncovering shall be included in the fee paid.

86.195(9) (9) Sign removal.

86.195(9)(a) (a) A sign may be removed upon the following grounds:

86.195(9)(a)1. 1. Failure to comply with the applicable motor service standards under sub. (3).

86.195(9)(a)2. 2. Failure to comply with the assurance of nondiscrimination required by sub. (5) (c).

86.195(9)(a)3. 3. Failure to pay the permit fee or the fee for the erection, installation or maintenance of a sign.

86.195(9)(b) (b) Contested cases concerning removals under this subsection shall be heard and decided by the division of hearings and appeals.

86.195(9)(c) (c) Sign removal shall not affect a sign requester’s liability for unpaid fees.

86.195(10) (10) Compliance with federal law.

86.195(10)(a) (a) Subsections (2) to (8) are adapted from and in substantial conformity with the federal standards promulgated by the U.S. secretary of transportation under 23 USC 109 (d), 131 (f) and 315 as codified in 23 CFR 655.301 to 655.310 (1980).

86.195(10)(b) (b) If, after November 1, 1982, the federal standards become more restrictive, the department shall submit proposed legislation to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature, as designated by the presiding officer of each house to bring this section into compliance with the federal standards. The department may promulgate an emergency administrative rule under s. 227.24 which supersedes this section until such time as the legislature acts on the legislation submitted under this paragraph or until the expiration of the effective period of the rule under s. 227.24 (1) (c) or (2), whichever comes first.

86.195 History History: 1981 c. 362, 391; 1985 a. 29; 1985 a. 182 s. 57; 1987 a. 137; 1987 a. 403 s. 256; 1989 a. 98, 315; 1991 a. 265, 269, 315; 1993 a. 16, 237, 246; 1997 a. 124, 237; 1999 a. 9; 2005 a. 63, 136, 309; 2007 a. 55; 2009 a. 2, 28, 153; 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 360; 2021 a. 244.

86.195 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. Trans 200.06, Wis. adm. code.

86.196 86.196 Tourist-oriented directional signs.

86.196(1) (1) In this section:

86.196(1)(a) (a) “Tourist-oriented directional sign” means a sign providing identification of and directional information for tourist-related businesses, services or activities.

86.196(1)(b) (b) “Tourist-related business, service or activity” means a business, service or activity the major portion of whose income or visitors is derived during the normal business season from motorists not residing in the immediate area where the business, service or activity is located.

86.196(1)(c) (c) “Urban areas” means the areas located within the urban area boundaries contained in the January 1, 1989, document prepared by the department in cooperation with the federal highway administration and entitled “Urban Federal Aid Systems”.

86.196(2) (2) The department shall establish by rule standards for tourist-oriented directional signs. The rule shall conform to federal standards for tourist-oriented directional signs adopted under 23 USC 131 (q) and with the manual of uniform traffic control devices adopted by the department under s. 84.02 (4) (e). The rule shall include all of the following:

86.196(2)(a) (a) Criteria for eligibility for signing.

86.196(2)(b) (b) Criteria for limiting or excluding businesses, services and activities that maintain signs that do not conform to requirements under s. 84.30.

86.196(2)(c) (c) Provisions for fees to cover costs of sign manufacture, erection and maintenance to be collected through a permit system.

86.196(2)(d) (d) Provisions specifying sign design and composition.

86.196(2)(f) (f) Criteria for determining when to permit advance signing.

86.196(2)(g) (g) Criteria for determining when to permit signing for facilities that are not located on a crossroad of a highway upon which tourist-oriented directional signs are permitted.

86.196(2)(h) (h) Criteria for signing at at-grade intersections of expressways.

86.196(2)(i) (i) Provisions specifying conditions under which the time of operation of a business, service or activity is shown.

86.196(2)(j) (j) Provisions for covering or removing signs during off seasons for businesses, services and activities operated on a seasonal basis.

86.196(2)(k) (k) Provisions specifying the maximum number of signs permitted per intersection.

86.196(2)(L) (L) Provisions for limiting the number of signs and for establishing information centers when the number of eligible sign applicants exceeds the maximum number of tourist-oriented directional signs permitted.

86.196(2)(m) (m) Provisions to integrate specific information signs erected under s. 86.195 with tourist-oriented directional signs erected under this section.

86.196(3) (3) Upon the request of any person, a local authority that has adopted an ordinance permitting the erection of tourist-oriented directional signs may authorize their erection within the right-of-way of any highway under the jurisdiction of the local authority, except that tourist-oriented directional signs may be erected only outside of urban areas and not within the right-of-way of a freeway or the right-of-way of any highway designated in s. 86.195 (2) (ag) for specific information signs. No tourist-oriented directional sign may be erected unless it is erected in compliance with rules promulgated by the department for such signs.

86.196(4) (4) The department may contract for the erection, installation and maintenance of tourist-oriented directional signs within the right-of-way of any highway under the jurisdiction of the department, except that tourist-oriented directional signs may be erected only outside of urban areas and not within the right-of-way of a freeway or the right-of-way of any highway designated in s. 86.195 (2) (ag) for specific information signs. No tourist-oriented directional sign may be erected unless it is erected in compliance with rules promulgated by the department for such signs.

86.196(5) (5) A tourist-related business, service or activity may not be located more than 5 miles from the highway on which the tourist-oriented directional sign for that business, service or activity is erected.

86.196(6) (6) Notwithstanding any eligibility criteria established under this section and rules promulgated under this section, the department shall install and maintain, on I 94 in Milwaukee County, 2 signs meeting the specifications under this section and rules promulgated under this section. One sign shall be viewable from the northbound lanes of I 94 and shall be located between Rawson Avenue and College Avenue. The other sign shall be viewable from the eastbound lanes of I 94 and shall be located in the proximity of the Waukesha County line. Both signs shall highlight lakefront attractions in the city of Milwaukee and shall include information about the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Discovery World, Summerfest, and the Milwaukee County War Memorial.

86.196 History History: 1989 a. 98, 315; 2007 a. 20.