ROADSIDE CONTROL 277 



sharply reduce the pressure for erection of billboards by travel-serving 

 business in the existing commercial and industrial areas. They 

 should be made exempt from the billboard regulations presented to 

 Congress by President Johnson. 



FRITHJOF M. LUNDE. It is generally accepted that there is a 

 valid social basis for some forms of commercial roadside signs. The 

 trouble with roadside signs is, among other things, a matter of in- 

 discriminate location, bad architectural and graphic design, poor 

 ideational content and bad upkeep. 



This proposal would at the outset seek completely to bar general 

 product advertising as a legitimate need in outdoor advertising on 

 local roads. A distinction must be made, however, to permit prod- 

 uct-sales or product-service establishments' signs so that local sales 

 and service agencies can advertise their agency for the general prod- 

 uct, viz, a tire dealer, or tractor service agency. 



Permitted signs in the county or municipality adopting "Sign- 

 Park Zoning" would have to demonstrate a pathfinding or directory 

 aspect. A further distinction here would be that on-premises signs 

 would be limited to product-sales or product-service or establishment- 

 identifying signs but general advertising would be prohibited 

 completely. 



To deal with indiscriminate location of signs, it is proposed that 

 sign-park zones be investigated as a concept. Under sign-park zon- 

 ing, a general county or town directory in the form of multiple sign- 

 boards concentrated in specially zoned areas would be mandatory 

 after a terminal period for removal of existing signs elsewhere. The 

 sign parks would be located within specified distances inward 

 from the county or town line along the major thoroughfares and high- 

 ways; commercial, off-premises signboards would be permitted no- 

 where else. The sign-park locations would be recommended by the 

 planning agency, adopted as part of the zoning ordinance ; approval 

 of the planning board would be required and the zoning board of 

 appeals or similar agencies would be the court-of-first-dispute. 



Sign parks could be substantial commercial enterprises and serve 

 many useful purposes as a town or county directory, unmanned in 

 most localities but permanently or seasonally manned as informa- 

 tion centers, if required. They could be well designed by various of 

 the design professionals, both as to their structures and graphics; 

 they could list all the town's churches, service organizations, cultural 

 entities, and commercial establishments, using existing and newly 



