Yakima Ave. banners advertise cell phones and another city?
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Two giant banners stare drivers in the face on Yakima Avenue.
One is advertising for a private business. The other is sending people to Toppenish.
City Manager Tony O'Rourke says he thinks they're unnecessary.
"It could either compliment a city or detract from it and I think we have a situation where we're doing more detracting than complementing,” O’Rourke said.
O'Rourke says right now anyone can hang a banner or sign wherever they want. He wants to fix it so that all major banners hanging downtown advertise Yakima or local events. He says too many banners can quickly clutter Yakima.
He plans to approach council with new requirements that limit size and design of signs.
Folks around town have mixed opinions about the giant displays.
“It looks pretty messy when you see the signs and everything around here,” said one man.
"I just really hadn't noticed,” said another woman.
"I think it's something that needs to change,” said one man who says he frequents the downtown.
O'Rourke is not just concerned with the downtown. He says he wants to improve the overall look of Yakima by making signs and advertisements pleasing to the eye.
The city says there are some areas around town, like the 1st Street corridor, where the signage is so obnoxious they consider it a visual assault on Yakima.
The city manager says he's not alone in his mission to improve appearances around town. The recent city survey indicated many people are not happy with how Yakima looks.
"The public is concerned about the aesthetics of the community and signage has a lot to do with that,” O’Rourke said. “We want people to operate and be successful in their businesses but we've got to strike a balance between free enterprise and also aesthetic quality in the community."
One too many signs that's become a glaring problem.
One is advertising for a private business. The other is sending people to Toppenish.
City Manager Tony O'Rourke says he thinks they're unnecessary.
"It could either compliment a city or detract from it and I think we have a situation where we're doing more detracting than complementing,” O’Rourke said.
O'Rourke says right now anyone can hang a banner or sign wherever they want. He wants to fix it so that all major banners hanging downtown advertise Yakima or local events. He says too many banners can quickly clutter Yakima.
He plans to approach council with new requirements that limit size and design of signs.
Folks around town have mixed opinions about the giant displays.
“It looks pretty messy when you see the signs and everything around here,” said one man.
"I just really hadn't noticed,” said another woman.
"I think it's something that needs to change,” said one man who says he frequents the downtown.
O'Rourke is not just concerned with the downtown. He says he wants to improve the overall look of Yakima by making signs and advertisements pleasing to the eye.
The city says there are some areas around town, like the 1st Street corridor, where the signage is so obnoxious they consider it a visual assault on Yakima.
The city manager says he's not alone in his mission to improve appearances around town. The recent city survey indicated many people are not happy with how Yakima looks.
"The public is concerned about the aesthetics of the community and signage has a lot to do with that,” O’Rourke said. “We want people to operate and be successful in their businesses but we've got to strike a balance between free enterprise and also aesthetic quality in the community."
One too many signs that's become a glaring problem.
The gangbangers have been putting their signs all over. Do something about them.
I've never noticed the banners. Parking places have been removed to make space for ugly so-called art. Paid parking, even if free for a while, requires extra walking, not that it isn't good for me, but usually the extra time it takes isn't welcome. More loss of parking is planned, streets closed, meaing access through the area is cripples, kind of like what is going on around Memorial. Pitty the employees who have to pay for a day of parking just to work downtown. Of course, that could have changed, don't know, it's been a while since I talked to a fellow who said basically parking costs him an hour of pay every day. Sorry to the few remaining business I used to enjoy, especially Olive Garden, but Yakima has trained me years ago to avoid downtown unless absolutely necessary.
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Banners? Ha! Least of the problems, IMHO.Â
Yakima is a geat place to live.......large hanging banners should not be welcome here.
Also cleaning up signage, especially on North 1st , should be on the list..............
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yes, because yakima needs to worry about ugly signs. priorities are twisted here. did i mention yakima sucks?Â