Take down those illegal signs, Kelly's (and other Salem sign scofflaws)

I hate the illegal signs that have sprouted all over Salem on the public right of way.

But today I, and some unknown other Fighter Against Urban Ugliness, struck blows against one of the worst offenders -- Kelly's Home Center.

Turning from River Road into Minto Brown Island Park to exercise in the early afternoon, I saw three Kelly's "Big Sale" signs between the road and railroad tracks. This is one of them.

Wanting to do my Streetstrider (outdoor elliptical bike) ride first, after I was done I vowed to walk from Parking Lot 1 up to the road and uproot the signs.

This, I've heard, is totally legal -- and a public service -- since the City of Salem Code Enforcement folks aren't able to enforce the sign ordinance due to budget cuts. 

Uprooting a sign(s) and leaving it on the ground reportedly is the legally preferred way to go. Personally, I view illegal signs as litter, just as a plastic bottle or soft drink can on the public right of way would be. So I don't see why removing a sign would be a problem.

But I was planning to do the "uproot and leave" thing, even though I was worried that Kelly's would just put the signs somewhere else. 

Well, it turned out that in the hour or so I was riding my Streetstrider, someone else had taken the Kelly's signs down. Way to go, guy or gal!

Two are shown in this photo. Another was close to the park entrance. Two more were laying on the ground across the street. So my fellow Hater of Illegal Signs had bagged five. Well done.

I was a bit disappointed, though, having wanted to make my own anti-sign statement. So I picked up one of the signs, stuck it in the bark for a few seconds, then pulled it out and laid it back on the ground.

It felt good. I wanted to take a public stand against the Sign Blight that has spread through Salem. We don't have to put up with this crap. Uproot and leave. Or, uproot and throw away, if you agree that the signs are litter.

I'm not talking about temporary signs like those plugging yard sales or Christmas trees. These aren't objectionable, so long as they're taken down promptly.

What bugs me -- and many others -- are commercial signs by businesses and other organizations in the public right of way (if they're attached to the front of a utility pole, this usually means the sign is illegal, since the poles are placed on the boundary of the right of way).

I enjoyed taking down the Kelly's sign, even though it was a symbolic action, given that someone else had already done the deed. I had to take a selfie to commemorate my act of citizen activism.

It didn't take long, though, to come across more Kelly's signs. Three were near the intersection of Kuebler and Liberty streets. Uproot and leave, thrice repeated. 

I hope Kelly's Home Center realizes that whenever my wife and I see a Kelly's sign on the right of way, our interest in buying more stuff from them takes a hit (we've had good experiences with Kelly's salespeople, but their marketing department is hurting the Kelly's image with their irritating illegal signs).

I'm going to email Kelly's Home Center a link to this post. So here's a message to Kelly's management:

If I see that the signs have been put back up, I'm going to take them down again. After that, if the signs have been replaced a second time, I'm going to take them home. If you want them back, email me.

At some point I'll find some time to let you know where they are. But I'm a busy guy, so I might not be able to do this for, oh, a few months. Or longer. 

While you're waiting to get your signs back, I suggest that you consider a radical idea: read the City of Salem sign ordinance! And follow the law.

900.100. Signs Installed Over or Within the Right-of-Way. No sign shall be erected over or within the public right-of-way unless the placement of the sign is first approved by the governmental unit having jurisdiction over the right-of-way. (Ord No. 4-12)

Comments

[Jim Scheppke]

Thanks Brian. I'm boycotting Kelly's. Here's a very successful business with a big advertising budget that thinks it's okay to make cheapo plastic signs and pay some poor sap minimum wage to pound them in the right of way, in violation of the law, all over town. Shame on them. And they are not the only offenders. Not by a mile. If you start to notice, you'll see these signs are trashing our fair city all up and down major arterials. South Commercial may be the worst. The City Council needs to wake up and do something. It makes a terrible impression on visitors to our city. It makes it look like we don't give a damn. Question for City Council: Is this non-enforcement of the law part of your effort to make Salem "business-friendly"?

[HarryVanderpool]

Brian, I read this post last night and did not get too excited about it.
Then today, I drove into town and:
WHAT AN EYESORE!!!
There are at least a dozen of those signs on the corner of Skyline and Kuebler.
South Salem is now littered with these signs.
Kaiser Permanente keeps a really groomed campus.
Now, the finely trimmed streetscape is lined with these illegal, cheesy signs.
It would be nice to get the name of the individual that made this decision
The signs have to go!

[Bromo]

When we take the cheesy signs down, staple a piece of paper stating the ordinance. Extra effort, I get it. Salem looks so trashy with these signs.
One step further, take down all the massive ugly digital signs too! I'd like this city to be one I'm proud to live in.