Bad Signs

I've said often how Salem's future is getting brighter. In fact, if you've driven around town lately, you've noticed signs of this brightness beeming at us on more and more street corners. I'm talking about these new electronic marquee signs being put up everywhere. The latest is for a business on Commercial St. in the Fairmont neighborhood called Silver Falls Dermatology. When I drove by it Tuesday, I almost steered off the road in disbelief. It was flashing and moving in ways that I thought was illegal in Salem. On a later trip, the sign seemed to be in compliance with the more stagnant city ordinances. I'm not against business doing what it needs to do to attract customers but these signs are very tacky. It makes Salem look like a cheap version of Las Vegas. It seems like now that the flood gates are open, every storefront in town will have one of these eyesores. The businesses without the bright flashing signs will go unnoticed and will be forced to buy bigger and brighter. Personally, it's dissappointing to see this happening in Salem because I feel like it takes away the small town charm. Short term, a business may get noticed this way but long term this will only dim everything else Salem has to offer.