Blue Lines Honoring Police Are Illegal, Federal Gov't Says

Those blue lines that have been painted down boulevards to show support of local law enforcement may be illegal.

Several North Jersey municipalities — including, Wayne, Mahwah, Ramsey, Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Fair Lawn, — have painted blue lines in support of their police departments.

A letter from Mark R. Kehrli of the Office of Transportation Operations with the U.S. Department of Transportation states that such lines are, "not in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD)."

RELATED: One Bergen Woman's Quest: A Blue Line In Every Town

The manual outlines the standards for traffic control devices, including lines, on public streets and highways.

The letter is addressed to Somerset County Engineer Matthew D. Loper. It says that the MUTCD states that the "pattern of a longitudinal double line shall be two parallel lines separated by a discernible space."

"Accordingly, the pavement surface must be visible in the space between the lines in the same way that it is visible outside the lines," the letter states. "On this basis alone, filling in the gap in a double line, either partially or fully, does not comply with the provisions of the MUTCD. The exception herein is the use of black in combination with one of the approved pavement marking colors, as noted in Section 3A.05."

Kehrli also said that there are, "many appropriate and fitting ways to recognize service to the public that do not involve the modification of a traffic control device, which can put the road user at risk due to misinterpretation of its meaning."

Send local news tips, photos, and press releases to daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.

Patch file photo