Re: “Sign, sign, everywhere (an illegal) sign” (TNT, 5-31).
The article about illegal signs sprouting up again made me think of how long it has been since I removed illegal signs in my neighborhood. I will have to step up my game since they are coming back with a vengeance.
Real estate signs seem to breed overnight especially at intersections, bus stops or wide spots in the road. It is a simple supply-and-demand situation: Companies supply the illegal signs, and my neighbors demand their prompt removal.
I don’t buy the argument that it is hurting the real estate or other businesses. If they are willing to overlook the sign ordinances, what other corners are they cutting?
We have had illegal sign problems during robust economic times, too.
There are legal ways to advertise that aren’t offensive to the public and don’t violate the ordinances currently in place. I hope that county officials will continue to pull signs, and I would tell them to not worry about the data collection. We don’t need charts and graphs to tell that our neighborhoods look better; we can see the difference.
Scofflaw sign planters will take a hint sooner or later. In the meantime, I will trot out my civic duty pride and wage war, recycling one sign at a time.
