Billboard issue could put city on the map

I’ll admit it. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in election-itis – a sneaky disease that causes brain malfunction and has replaced my usual blank stare.

But this past week, I’ve been returning to normal, reverting to my cozy hobbit home, quieting the election-ad-mute-button-syndrome and once again, taking note of some shenanigans brewing in our own Spokane Valley.

Seems billboard proponents have snuck the old billboard nemesis back in and feel billboards should saturate the landscape. These billboard aficionados are not appeased by the current blotting of the skylines and destruction of the landscape. Now their target is the aesthetic corridor, those pristine areas blissfully absent of these monstrosities.

I don’t know about you but I haven’t seen a billboard that’s compelled me to write down a phone number, buy an item, patronize a business or spun me around in my tracks to reread its contents. What I have noticed is these big, ugly signs definitely tick me off.

Along with blocking out Spokane’s natural surroundings, there is an incessant competition afoot – which billboard can out-blare the next? How many more obnoxious colors, suggestive slogans, rotating panels and blinking lights can we hoist up into the skyline?

As American as competition is, there remains one compelling reason billboards should be banned: They do nothing to contribute to the betterment of a community.

Those of the billboard persuasion would argue that billboards are a mainstay, a norm – the meat and potatoes of our society. Sure, they mess up that picturesque mountain, muddle those snowcapped peaks, clutter that gorgeous lake but this is a multibillion-dollar industry and what else can we read on the commute to work?

All well thought out arguments, to be sure. And the billboard companies hope you’ll remember these when it comes time to say yea or nay to their proposed plan of sticking more highway junk mail into the already visually challenged landscape.

The fact is, soon, very soon, that McDonald’s sign blends into the landscape and we’re positive every mountain has the golden arches embedded into its side. Sadly and in the blink of an eye, nature is distorted with commercialism.

Recently I was in Sedona, Ariz., the land of red rock and unique beauty. Several days were spent admiring the breathtaking sights while driving through town and the region. Then I realized, there were no billboards – not a one – and their absence opened up a panorama of scenery for residents and visitors alike.

Recall, fellow Valley citizens, that back in November 2002 while under the jurisdiction of Spokane County, an advisory vote was placed on the ballot concerning billboards. Voters overwhelmingly advised their elected officials they wanted 19 billboards removed in an unincorporated area of the county. Although new billboards were already prohibited in the area, the voters wanted the existing ones removed.

Unfortunately, the advisory vote was disregarded due in part to pressure from the billboard industry.

Perhaps what I’ve gleaned from this year’s election is an underlying rebelliousness reminiscent of the 1960s when “Question Authority” was a defining slogan.

It’s time for the bell-bottoms, peace sign and tie-dye shirt to come out of the rafters and to be worn with pride. Time to use the billboard establishment to our advantage.

Along with fellow writer Richard Chan and his interesting promotional ideas for the Spokane Valley (If bigger is better, let’s get going, Valley Voice Oct. 23), might I suggest that our city capitalize on the thought-provoking billboard fame as well? The following slogans may put Spokane Valley on the map:

“Got billboards? We do!”

“How green is Spokane Valley? We don’t know. We can’t see it.”

“Spokane Valley – Home of Billboard Blight Bonanza!”

“Valley of the Billboards.”

“Spokane Valley Billboard Association – Making sure you can’t see for miles and miles.”

Yep, politics has definitely taught me to work within the system.