Letter
to Editor of the Guardian
From
Councillor Gerry Warner
I agree with
Councillor Sharon Cross that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but I
don’t agree with her opposition to the City’s new sign bylaw nor the Guardian’s
recent editorial on the issue. Obviously what Shakespeare meant when he wrote
the classic phrase was that “beauty” is subjective. The sign or billboard you
think is ugly I may find beautiful and vice versa. Given this, it’s impossible
for one person to pass judgment on billboards or signs and equally impossible
for one authority such as the City to do the same. Thus, all that can be done
is to set aesthetic standards for billboards and signs and enforce the
regulations, which is exactly what the City’s new sign bylaw purports to do. I
would point out that Councillor Cross herself suggested installing a new sign
on the outskirts of the city to draw attention to an attraction in the city and
I’m glad to see her recognizing the importance of what signs do.
As
for the Guardian’s editorial, I would point out that “clutter” is a feature of
all cities, big or small, and is indeed one of the attractions of cities. In
New York, tourists throng to see the signs in Times Square. They do the same to
see the famous theatre signs on Granville Street in Vancouver. As for
Cranbrook’s unfairly criticized “Strip,” the signs make it perfectly clear that
this is the towns’ major commercial street for shopping, business, dining and
entertainment and I respectfully ask; what’s wrong with that? If you want to
see the Rockies there are better places to view their majesty than the Strip. I
support those who want to improve the visual appearance of the city 100 per
cent, but I think those efforts would be put to far more productive use
downtown than capitulating to outside critics carping about our already vastly
improved Strip.
Well said Gerry!
ReplyDeleteAsk yourself about those responsible for the thinking and work involved in this 'vastly improved strip'. Much opposition was originally encountered because "trees would hide the signs". That thinking is still hanging on in some locations, yet what looks more inviting - a business with distinctive landscaping and clear simple signage or a business obliterated with a jumble of fluorescent letters and a few boards with empty words. Maybe this argument has more to do with our conditioning and separation from our real and meaningful environment.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to downtown Cranbrook Councillor Warner. Now the strip is "major commercial street for shopping, business, dining and entertainment..." Methinks you are trying to have it both ways, and all ways in your letter.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with councillor Warner. Well said.
ReplyDeleteMy request was for a small sign attached to the Farmer’s Market one along the highway to point to the many Spirit Square events being held this summer. Events planned by volunteers in the arts and culture sector, who have a vision and a solid understanding of the economic role they play in our community. The need for signs and the role they play for business (and in this case for community events) is one that I fully understand, appreciate, and support.
ReplyDeleteBillboards are an outdated form of advertising. Many communities no longer allow them. In this age of GPS and Google Maps, and the City’s provision for many different kinds of signs, I question the need for such large scale signs.
Councillor Warner’s statement “I support those who want to improve the visual appearance of the city 100 per cent, but I think those efforts would be put to far more productive use downtown . . .” implies that all the volunteers who put in thousands of hours trying to improve the Strip, wasted their time.
There is an opportunity here to enhance our community’s introduction to the traveling public. Perhaps Councillor Warner has given up on the appearance of Cranbrook. I haven’t.