More signs of the times

Ottawa isn't the only place with a sign problem:

"It's currently the wild west," said Councillor Adam Vaughan. "You can put up a sign for five or six years, and make hundreds of thousands of dollars off it, and nothing happens.

I like most of these proposals for a new TO sign by-law, all of which would help out the Bells Corners Strip:

• Require illuminated signs to be powered by renewable energy or demand the purchase of offsets

  Consider times when illuminated signs must be turned off

  Limit the maximum area that signs can occupy in a window

  License sign companies

  Create a dedicated sign unit with the city building department to issue permits, inspect, monitor and enforce the new bylaw

Also a link to a great web site: http://illegalsigns.ca/ ... we need one of these for Ottawa!

Sign Jihad Episode ?

It looks like the temporary signs at the National Bank Plaza have been reduced by 25%. Gone is the unlit Giant Tiger sign, and one of the other GT signs has been given over to the health clinic to advertise flu shots. Still, that's 3 signs on one block.

When I get a bit of time, a note will be sent to The Public Citizen. I like his style...

City to teen playwrights: no signs!

The problem is that the signs, which are about the size of a car licence plate, qualify as posters under the city's bylaw, said Linda Anderson, head of enforcement at the City of Ottawa's bylaw office. That means they must be made of paper and are only allowed up for a couple of weeks at most — not long enough for a three-year installation. City crews tear down posters across the city on the first and the 15th of each month.

Meanwhile, in Bells Corners, no sign of bylaw enforcement officers or "city crews" anywhere in sight.

I'll take "none of the above" please

Commenter hibou's signs of the times.

Sign Jihad Episode 1, Act 2, in which 311 forwards my email

from: 311@ottawa.ca to: reburb@gmail.com cc: Bylaw Dispatch date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 10:36 AM subject: 2008-334589 FW: Temporary signs at Stafford Road / Richmond Road

Good morning,

Thank you for contacting the City of Ottawa. With regard to your inquiry, we have forwarded your email to our By-Law Services Branch. Your service request number is 2008-334589.

For further information, or should you have any other issues that need to be resolved rapidly, we invite you to call us at 3-1-1, Monday to Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. A Call Centre Agent will be happy to take care of your request immediately.

Yours truly,

Election signs: another blight on a blighted landscape?

The Green Party's proposal of a moratorium on election signs on public property is not gaining traction in Kingston.

Other parties don't seem to be signing on to a Green party plan to reduce "visual pollution" in Kingston, Ont., during the federal election campaign. The party is advocating that parties voluntarily keep public spaces free of election signs and limit them to private property — an idea that both the Liberals and the NDP supported in 2006.

Too bad, election signs are such a waste of material and money, and annoying visual pollution to boot.

Sign Jihad Episode 1: Giant Tiger Is Killing Our Souls

to: 311@ottawa.ca date: Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 1:13 PM subject: Temporary signs at Stafford Road / Richmond Road Hello, I'm writing to complain about the "temporary" signs on Richmond Road in Bells Corners, at the corner of Stafford Road. They belong to the Giant Tiger (address: 1 Stafford Road). I understand that the sign bylaw allows 1 sign, for 1 month, for 3 times a year. Giant Tiger has had at least one sign up at this location since it opened in the early summer, and now has three signs (photo attached). Secondly, I believe all the signs are in contravention of the regulation that they must be 23 m from other temporary signs. The first sign is certainly closer than that to the East Side Mario's sign (which has also been up all summer). Could you tell me: 1) what the permit situation is with these signs and 2) whether they are in contravention of the sign bylaw? Thanks, reburb@gmail.com