A drive through a nightmare rabbit hole of 3D, garish colours and flashing lights. Is that the vision of some, for a major road that passes through our city nestled in the Rocky Mountain Trench and surrounded by the most peaceful and beautiful scenery in the world? Why would anyone want to hang around in that? It is somewhat amusing that on highway 97 there is a large billboard type sign with a picture of the mountains designed to advertise Cranbrook but at the same time distracting us from the very mountains, which make our setting attractive. ‘Mountains of Opportunity’ is our branding. Well then, let’s recognise that and put the focus where it belongs on the mountains, the real ones.
Council is in the midst of a decision, viewed by some as simple but it is far from that for it will be precedent setting. Whether or not to give permission for one electronic reader board sign to one business who is willing to invest a large sum of money to promote business is not as easy as it seems on the surface. We cannot blame one business owner who would like to stand out but the trouble is, it would not be one sign. When there are few rules to be enforced, signage becomes a competition of bigger, longer, higher, wider, brighter, flashier, closer, all in an effort to be noticed. We have a lot of that already and depending on your perspective, it may or not be attractive. Isn’t it the town in the mountains that we wish to be noticed and shouldn't our appearance reflect that beauty?
Cranbrook’s strip including its relationship to the rest of Cranbrook has not been subjected to serious scrutiny by council as far as we know. We complain about it and there are unflattering comments from area residents, tourists and travel magazines. Some residents have been so concerned about the strip, they set about ‘beautifying it and calming it down’ - under the name of Cranbrook in Bloom. Many businesses bought into these projects but their efforts are hard to notice sometimes when signs pop up stapled to poles, fluorescent letters appear on the grass boulevard and multiple identical signs as if to say me, me, me, appear all in an effort to be noticed.
Maybe it is time to step back and once and for all, for business owners, residents and tourist industry personnel to take a good long look at what we want as our first impression for the whole city. If business owners and residents want people to linger in our city, what is the best way to make it happen? Tourism employs a large number of people in this area, both directly and indirectly and the potential for more is huge but it will not happen when we still apologise to our tourist relatives and friends for the ‘strip’ because right now we still do. It is a lot better but it has a long way to go. We need to ask some basic questions:
What are the signs for? Do customers really make a decision about which business to patronise based on a sign?
Residents know where their favourite businesses are, based on reputation, past experience and personal preference. They don’t need a huge flashy sign to tell them where to go and if they do they should not be driving or walking alone.
People driving through have GPS systems, phone apps and a radio to listen to, all of which will easily direct them to their favourite franchises or look up restaurants in the area.
Will drivers really be able to differentiate and evaluate one business from another based on a sign when they are trying to focus on navigating a busy road?
We already have our notorious 'suicide lane' in the middle of the strip - do we want to add more distractions?
What will encourage traffic to turn in and browse?
Shouldn't there be an obligation for business that has gone out of business to remove their signage?
These are just a few of the questions and concerns that need to be addressed carefully and maybe it is time for an updated enforceable bylaw to be examined by all those affected before a single precedent setting decision is made that will affect our reputation well into the future.
One argument made by the proponent for an electronic sign is that the city has one. Yes, the city does have an electronic sign on the corner of Victoria Avenue, near the Rec Plex. It is at a stop sign, is not on a busy highway and it is likely to remain a 'one of' in that location.
A decision may well be made at this Monday’s March 19th Council Meeting. If you have opinions on this topic, maybe now is the time to contact your favourite councillor and let them know your views.
The spurious first impression many get of Cranbrook can surely change with everyone's patience and input.
Readers may out of interest wish to read our article from January about Sao Paulo Brazil - a city with no advertising, not that we are suggesting that! It was posted when the sign request first came to the attention of Council.http://livablecranbrook.blogspot.ca/2012/01/city-without-advertising.html
Another thought-provoking article. It sounds like this topic needs further investigation. I like the idea of all the different interested parties having a chance for public input. Why not hold an open house at the Manual Training Centre?
ReplyDeleteHopefully Council will consider all the implications before reaching a final decision.
Thank you this article. You have raised an issue that should concern all of us in Cranbrook as 'The Strip' has essentially defined the place Cranbrook is, at least for the almost 23 years I have been here. And, the impression has really not been favourable.
ReplyDeleteThere has been some improvement over the years but in all honesty (as I walk along it at least once a week), not much, and I think back to my first few days here when I thought it was the main street. I agree with SMW that this topic needs input from all interested parties.
It may, in fact, become an important defining moment for Cranbrook if this mayor and council handle it properly.
The signage is only a part of the problem. The major problem on the strip is the electrical and phone wires running not just on the strip but all over the city.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at 2nd St.S. a street that they just did major work on, the views are spectaculiar, if you can ignore the wires. You may also wish to consider taking the poles off the street and putting them on the inside of the sidewalks.
Do we not have some sort of control over the mess these companies have created.