The City of Akron is looking to get public input on a proposal regarding "street memorials" that are seen on area roadways.

Ward 4 Councilman Russel Neal Jr tells AkronNewsNow.com its important to educate the public on this growing trend.

"The community has to come together and share on how they want to address this," he explained.

"Their input on this is going to be important, so when it's all said and done, they will have to be educated on how to handle this as a community."

Neal will be holding a ward meeting at the Lawton St Community Center Tuesday at 6pm to discuss the issue.
  

Ward 4 Councilman Russel Neal by Aaron Coleman

There is no legislation in place for street memorials, but Neal says with the help of the city's Law Department a policy has been drawn up to make things clearer.

He says the policy will bring people up to speed to on what you can place on a memorial as well as how long you can leave it up..

"When the policy comes out, there will be restrictions on what can be placed out there, no bottles, no candles, so there will be some standards as far as how these memorials can be set," Neal said.

Street memorials are typically classified as lightpost memorials with flowers, pictures, teddy bears, or candles in honor of the deceased who died in either an act of violence or a car accident.

The proposal states that as of May 1st, these memorials will be removed 90 days after the City is notified of their existence.

Both Neal and City Council President Marco Sommerville agree that 90 days is too long to leave the memorials up.

"The citizens I spoke with said 30 days is appropriate, some people think it should be longer, I feel that we have to show respect for the loss of life, and 90 days is more than appropriate."

Councilman Neal says he's hopeful the administration and the citizens will have a policy they will both be comfortable with.

The current draft states that these memorials will be bagged with each bag being marked with the location and date of removal. They will be kept at 850 E. Market St for two weeks from the date of the removal in case any of the family members want to recover any of the items at the site.

The city will also make an effort to advise the grieving family on the existing policy and also offer their condolances on their loss.

The City's Customer Service Manager will be in charge with notifiying the family and ensuring the proper respect is paid to the family.