These signs are totally owned and operated by the City and the City retains complete control over their content, both in form and substance. These signs are a form of ‘government speech’ as that term is defined by the courts of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia. These signs are not public forums. Format is limited to still images only. Videos or animated content will not be accepted. All content must be suitable for viewing by young children in the sole judgement of the City’s Communications department. The list of content that Communications will not accept includes, but is not limited to, content involving commercial advertising, advertising for a particular social or political cause, a political party or a political candidate, or content containing words or images of a sexual, suggestive, vulgar, violent, or racist nature.
In the case of an emergency, at the City’s sole discretion and regardless of whether a formal declaration of emergency has been made by the Governor, all other content will be removed and replaced with public safety messages. If the operating schedule is interrupted for an emergency, the Department of Communications may as a courtesy offer an extension on the current request or comparable time for a different sign.
The Department of Communications may reject suggested content for any reasons and remove suggested content after acceptance for any reason and at any time without prior notice.