Originally Posted by
smarkinson
Check with your local laws but this may come under vandalism/graffiti and you could be fined particularly if the local council doesn't like having it's laziness pointed out by members of the community.
There was a guy who used to this around my local area and he received an official caution from the police (so no fine).
Years ago, I and others marked all sorts of routes and never had serious issues with police. In some places (based on prior history, we'd tell them in advance, explain what we were doing, where and when. But overall, we just went out and did our think, explaining if anybody asked.
Basic guidelines need to be respected. Don't use colors and markings similar to what traffic markings use (obviously), or utilities. Don't mark near other markings to avoid confusion, and keep them discreet and unobtrusive.
Adherence to these guidelines, and the ability to put them down quickly, were considerations Dan Henry used in developing his route markers. Because I was marking routes that sometimes crossed or overlapped his I used a different marker consisting of a solid ball with a line coming out to show the intended direction.
Interestingly, most of the police issues I had were concerns over my safety (decoded, could the town of Chief of Police be sued if they let me mark and I got killed doing so) and often, when they heard I was marking for a bicycle tour, they'd want to know how many bicycles were going to descend on their town.