Concerts, weight loss, high-paying jobs and a great new club opening. Walking down a city street, most people take the postings on telephone poles and buildings for granted.

But they may not be there much longer. And in East Lansing and Lansing, they aren’t supposed to be there in the first place.

Starting last week, Lansing police have begun to enforce an ordinance that prohibits postings on poles by removing the postings all over the city.

“We periodically get calls from citizens complaining that it’s an eyesore - that’s how it came about,” Lansing City Attorney Billie O’Berry said. “I think that once people realize they shouldn’t do it, it won’t be a problem.”

Both Lansing and East Lansing have city codes prohibiting the posting of unsightly bills on poles. But many posters find their way to the streets regardless.

“I think it all depends on what is being posted,” said Meghan Pastoria, a family and consumer resources senior. “It is public property, but the things being posted should be within reason.”

Consumers Energy has also been part of a number of programs to remove postings.

Don Lemons, senior technical analyst with Consumers Energy, says the postings are not only ugly, they can be dangerous for employees who have to climb the poles, citing even the staples and nails used to hang postings can cause problems. Cable and phone employees may also be using the same poles.

“We’re trying to make sure that the poles are free of anything that may be a safety hazard for our employees,” Lemons said.

Lemons believes a good number of people are willing to stop posting information on city streets, once they know it’s against city regulations.

“There’s about a 50-50 compliance,” Lemons said.

Lemons also noted those who want to advertise their product free of charge may only have the local bulletin board to resort to. And the ordinance restricting posting on public property leaves only a person’s own property as a last resort for advertising yard sales.

In East Lansing, Parking and Code Enforcement officers are in charge of enforcing the ordinance.

Annette Irwin, administrator for East Lansing’s code enforcement, said the city has no plans to step up the enforcement. Officers have been taking down postings and attempting to track down the culprits for quite some time.

“There haven’t been any changes,” Irwin said. “We’ve always had an ordinance.”