Gary Woltal wrote Signs of the Times Now Sometimes Say Prohibited. Let's take a moment to consider the ramifications if this were carried to it's logical extreme. And just so you know, I'm in favor of a no sign ordinance.

For perspective, I liked the Burma Shave signage.  Then, in Minnesota, years ago and maybe now, liquor stores were prohibited from advertising except for signs on their buildings, so you ended up seeing buildings draped in huge "SALE" signs. Ugh.

Signs are out of control. Here's what I'll concede. Traffic signs are a must. Signs for public services, such as hospitals, city, county, state and federal buildings and parks are necessary. Businesses should be allowed to have a sign on the front of their building. The sign should take up no more than 5% of the entry level square footage of the buildings facade. Rules: I could make lots of them. And when a govenment makes them, there will be lots of exceptions, because there are lots of lobbies. But I would say No to semi-trailer bodies sitting in a farmers' fields along side of the freeway with a sign painted on the side to get around a no sign law. No more signs on power poles and bus shelters and glued, taped, or nailed up anywhere. No signs in store windows beyond the 5% rule. Our cities and towns would look like the architect's model of a planned development rather than a conglomeration of hopes piled up by a wind storm. .

You can find anything online these days. You can get directions. If there were no signs in cities, you could actually see the street signs and the building numbers. You would be able to find stuff. You could see architecture. That would be a beautiful thing and it would encourage building owners to take better care of what they own. If there were no signs allowed the Interstates and state highways and local roads, you would be able to see and appreciate nature and the rural landscape. Did you ever drive through a National Park and enjoy the ride, even though you hadn't reached the scenic part yet? Pretty nice.

What would it do to the Real Estate business. It would be wonderful. Buyers would search websites to find out what was for sale and because of that, realtor websites would get better. Buyers would call realtors to verify availability and to schedule a showing.  Wonderful.

It could be a whole new beautiful world out there. What do you think?

Photo Credit: D Sharon Pruitt, Flickr Creative Commons