I saw this ‘walk right in’ banner for the local Great Clips salon flying on Tuesday, adjacent to the sidewalk along Water St. in front of River Park Mall.
I thought it was a clever, attractive variation to the sandwich boards that many local businesses use.
Others may see it as an eyesore… another piece of urban clutter.
Looks delicious.
This is the tip of the iceberg…
There were thousands of these “sandwich boards” in Kyoto, Japan. I tend to agree with John Thomas. Urban clutter.
I think this gets back to the conversation we had earlier… (which month) about the Northfield sign ordinances.
Today, I saw a sign on the sidewalk next to First National, pointing folks to the “art place” above Froggy’s.
I thought the ordinance stated that signs had to be within a certain distance or boundary of the business, and of a certain number? I want to say it was two.
Can anyone give me the link to the town ordinances again?
A lot of the cheesy hand scrawled signage being put up downtown just looks bad. If your going to put up signage, at least make it look decent, and a respectable part of downtown.
Between the signs, the smokers, the bikers, the skateboarders, and all the “Junque” (<== Note the classy antique spelling ) that is placed on the sidewalks, it is a wonder shoppers can even get to the stores.
I am not saying ban all signage, I am just saying lets have some standards that are followed.
I would also like to propose a downtown rule, that all neon signage advertising adult beverages be turned off from 2 AM until the establishment reopens in the late morning.
Nothing is more beautiful than going downtown early in the morning (5:30 AM) with a fresh snow, and seeing the beer signs mixed in with the holiday decorations. It is simply breathtaking… in a negative way.
Eagles, Froggy’s, Ruebenstein, Basil’s, VFW… can you take care of this on your own?
Hogan’s and B&L already shut them off when they are closed. Can you be a good neighbor and do the same? Do you really need to advertise the beer, both when you are closed, and it is not legal to sell anyway?
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a dimmed beer light… 😎
John, the City Hall page has a City Code page that then links to the Municode site for Northfield’s code.
Sec. 34-1080. Sign standards by zones
Well, if that is the ordinance, then there are several folks downtown, well out of compliance.
There is a definite visibility problem downtown. I once went through and took photos of many of the doors. I noticed the window displays did not always
convey the contents of the store. I guess they are fighting a sunray problem, too.
More concern with store window display and/or maybe a sidewalk insert could
take care of that for some places. Cuz you can’t see the store where you are standing as well as you can see across the street, or at your feet.
“Well, if that is the ordinance, then there are several folks downtown, well out of compliance.”
including Great clips? taller than 3.5 ft and not removed at night.
I think the liquor store sign is not in compliance with the color code. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it might have too many colors. Also, I’m not sure if the purple grapes are from the Benjamin Moore historic palatte. probably grandfathered in though.
Maybe the NDDC could design a conforming folding sign in an attractive color and sell it as a reasonable cost to local businesses. There could be space for an individual, changing message to promote the business or a special sale or store event. The space also could be the right size to use to hold fliers for major downtown events.
This would provide some uniformity, some flexibility and a quick way and easy way for visitors to know what’s up. They could fit nicely into the whole wayfinding effort.
Jerry,
I am speaking purely from a sheer number, and placement perspective.
It seems to me, that there are several folks that are placing signs near the bridge square intersection, that are not located near Bridge Square.
These signs remain up for days, are more than one, and are not located directly in front of ones business.
I checked today and Froggy Bottoms’ adult beverage signs are connected to the illuminated Froggy Bottoms sign and both are turned off together at closing.
The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) gets involved in signage and lighting (PDF) and other public signage (PDF).
I don’t think they pay much attention to violations of the sidewalk signs we’ve been discussing here, tho. Should they? If not, who?
Susan,
Outstanding… Thanks so much for checking that.
I did not mean to single out your establishment. I meant it as a blanket statement for all downtown businesses, and should have phrased it that way.
It came out that way, as my brain remembered that you had neons… now that I think about it, it is very obvious that you are closed, as your windows are quite dark. I must have been thinking of your neighbors.
Again, thanks for checking on that.
I also want to say that I appreciate the fact that Froggy’s was smoke free inside, way before the smoking ban, and continues to be a family friendly establishment for dinner during the week, and early on weekends, before it gets too crowded.
I think the problem is they are selective. Put up a sign that is in violation with the code and nothing happens. If you go before the board with your proposal, you will get rejected. It sends the message that following the rules will get you nowhere. As Nike says “Just do it!” You’ll be fine.
The banner is gone. anyone know why?
My guess is that the weather, and winds were contributing factors.
Some one ate it.
It got “clipped” ?
Or maybe, signed off?