"Cluster signs" clutter up community

From the files of "Ways to Make Blytheville Look Better," I offer the following:

Those cluster signs we see at area strip malls — the ones that feature a bunch of itty-bitty signs on one tall structure — I say we get rid of 'em.

You've probably seen what I'm talking about. There's one in front of the Dixie Heights shopping area. There's one at Porter Commons. There's another at the little strip mall known as "Magnolia Square." My basic point is they serve very little purpose other than to provide unneeded vertical clutter in a community already battling to make itself look nice.

I've noticed more and more of these sign clusters appearing in the last decade or so. As this coincides with the time I move to the South, I'm not sure if they are a phenomenon of this region, or if they are simply part of a new trend in poor signage. I do know that they are not unique to Blytheville. Drive to Memphis or Jonesboro, or pretty much anywhere else, and you will see sign clusters cluttering up everyone's landscape.

But whether these signs are new or old, regional or not, what is certain is their lack of usefulness. In a nutshell, I just don't think anybody uses them. In Blytheville, for instance, you either know where Benny Bob's is, or you don't. You either know where Payless Shoes is, or you don't. You either know where H&R Block is, or you don't. You either know where Gamestop is, or you don't. The itty-bitty signs out front don't help you.

If you don't know where one of these businesses is, you'll find out, either by someone telling you, "It's in the strip next to Wal-Mart," or "It's in that little shopping area on East Main." Or you simply look at the building itself for the storefront you need. At Porter Commons, where you approach the center from an overpass, it's quite easy to scan the storefronts for what you're looking for.

What you don't do is scan the array of tiny notebook paper-size signs located in a cluster on one post located by the roadway. It's virtually impossible to efficiently find anything in such an array, especially when most small businesses don't have a recognizable logo; and when you're traveling in four-lane traffic at 35 mph or more.

If you were on foot, or if you were stopped at a red light, I could see how these signs might have some use. But that's not the case here in Blytheville. Around here, the only way you can really get a good look at these sign clusters is if you pull into the parking lot and stop. And if you've done this, you might as well just look down the storefronts for what you're looking for.

The reason these signs are such a problem is that they contribute to what I see as a significant issue in the East Main-Interstate 55 area: Too much vertical clutter.

Next time you're heading west across the I-55 overpass, toward Blytheville, take a moment to survey the scene. There is an inordinate amount of vertical objects cluttering the landscape. Sure, many of these are necessary, from the commercial signs for individual businesses, to the directional signs of the highway department. But many others are useless. There's several giant poles that are not even in use. There are numerous road signs that are redundant or unnecessary. And there are about a million utility poles, some of which are most certainly superfluous.

Heading east over the overpass, it's nice to see our new restaurants, but the vertical clutter, ranging from a glut of utility poles to the Porter Commons cluster sign, weakens the overall aesthetics.

I think it's stuff like this that separates the communities that look "nice" from those that don't. It's something you might not even notice, especially if you drive by it every day. Yet it's the kind of thing that contributes to a community somehow just not looking as nice as others.

Lord knows that there are numerous problems facing the city of the Blytheville, and I concede that some problems may be of greater importance than unsightly sign clusters. But if we really want to make our city look better, we ought to tackle the issue of vertical clutter.

When the day comes again to consider changing city codes, a rule banning cluster signs would be a welcome move.