Hamilton now has a policy limiting roadside memorials to 18 months

Hamilton city council has approved a policy stating roadside memorials can only be in place for 18 months.

The new policy, which received final approval at a council meeting Wednesday, also outlines what memorials can be made of, rules for maintenance and where they can be located.

In a statement shared after the vote, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he was pleased to see the policy approved, adding it "will provide the public with a better, more transparent understanding of how the city will treat roadside memorials."

The policy was passed despite concerns from some, including Léony deGraaf Hastings, whose stepdaughter Jordyn Hastings died in a car crash on the Red Hill Valley Parkway in 2015, who said the timeline for removal is far too short.

"Loved ones have barely gone through their 'year of firsts' and then to have their memorial taken down soon afterwards would be counterproductive to their grieving process," she previously wrote in an email to CBC.

Memorials "also promotes public awareness to be careful, as that particular area of a roadway may be dangerous," she said. 

A memorial for Jordyn and her friend Olivia Smosarski still marks the place where they were killed.

Jennifer Mann, whose daughter Mackenzie was killed in a car crash in June 2020, also wrote to council asking that the 18-month time frame be reconsidered.

"One of the biggest worries of grieving parents is that their child will be forgotten. Memorials help to keep their memory alive," she wrote in an email to the city that was included as correspondence for Wednesday's council meeting.

"Why take that from people that have had the most horrible thing happen to a human being?"

The city said it recognizes memorials can "aid grieving family and friends," but that its new policy provides a "consistent" approach and is aimed at keeping passersby and visitors safe.

It says monuments should not be larger than one metre in length, height and width and cannot include something that can shatter such as glass or a mirror.

It also bans any sort of illumination including, candles, solar lights and reflective devices.

Any message that might be "perceived as being offensive" would also be outlawed.