Beauty Destroyed -One Sign at a Time

It is common for folks to say that they live in a beautiful part of the country. And they are always right. Every part of this country holds a unique beauty - whether it is the countless Prairie fields filled with incredible yellow canola, the soft blue of flax flowers or huge sunflower plants slowly twisting on their stocks as the sun moves across the sky; whether it is that first glimpse of the mountains an hour or so west of Calgary or the glory of the Canadian shield reflected in the majesty of Lake Superior; whether it is the Gatineau Hills, or those hills around Huntsville showing off their autumn colours - it is an extraordinary land. It doesn't matter whether one is on the ferry to Salt Spring Island or to Argentia, Newfoundland - there is never any doubt that one is being transported to a different world. Every square inch of this land is wonderful and it should be treasured.

The Cowichan Valley with its rivers, its ocean beaches, its sometimes dark forest and generally its benign climate is one of those spots whose beauty deserves to be mentioned. But it is less beautiful than it used to be.

On the Trans-Canada just south of the town of Duncan, on the east side of the highway, there has sprouted up a plethora of large billboards. To be specific - there are large 13 signs jammed into less than 500 metres. The signs are ugly, tacky and a blight on the environment. I suspect as well, that they are highly distracting. I am not sure if anyone actually is swayed to buy whatever is advertised on this large, brightly coloured signs, but to me - there are so many in such a short space that I am overwhelmed, my eyes and brain cannot possibly take in all or any of the information. But the temptation is to try and catch all of the messages as I zip by them - as opposed to watching the cars around me.

From the logo on the signs, it would appear that there are two different companies that have constructed the structures to hold the signs. I assume those two companies pay rent to whoever owns the land and in turn charge a fee to those who which to advertise their products or services. If I could see who was advertising - I would be tempted to write to each of the companies and tell them that I will never buy from them.

There are many ways to let me people know what is available to buy or use - we do not need the roadside littered with ugly commercials.