Sometimes, life on Easy Street isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"Living on Easy Street is absolutely great," said Marv Allen, who has lived on the southwest Bismarck street for four years. "We just love it, except they keep stealing our cotton-picking sign."

Allen said the Easy Street sign was stolen earlier this week, which is at least the third time he and his wife remember it being stolen.

The Easy Streetsign gets stolen several times every year, said Bismarck roads and streets foreman Bob Stenehjem. Each time, the cost for the city to replace the sign is about $100, he said.

Easy Street is one of several Bismarck street signs that get stolen from time to time, Stenehjem said.

Allen, 63, said he and his wife, Jody, 53, moved to Easy Street four years ago. Allen said they've noticed that the street sign disappears on a fairly regular basis.

Two years ago, his wife heard dogs barking at around 11 p.m., Allen said. She opened the door to see what was going on and saw a van backed into the sign post, he said.

The thieves had to knock the post over to steal the sign, he said.

When Jody Allen yelled at the thieves, the van drove off, Allen said. One of the thieves ran after the van, carrying the sign - post and all - until the van stopped for him at the next stop sign, Allen said.

Stenehjem said the Easy Street sign gets riveted to the post rather than bolted so that it takes more than a wrench to remove it.

"People have to work at it," he said.

While the thefts may seem amusing, Stenehjem said he worries anytime a street sign is stolen. It may seem like a harmless prank, but it could be much more serious, he said.

"What if an ambulance or the police needed that sign in an emergency?"he said. "It's all right if the pizza delivery guy can't get there."

Stenehjem said he also worries that people will steal "stop" or "yield" signs, which could cause accidents.

"It can be pretty dangerous," he said.

Assistant City Attorney Paul Fraase said stealing a street sign is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)