Monday, March 19, 2007

Of signs and such

Some folks are finding it hard to locate Sutter Creek since the construction of the Highway 49 bypass. Until good signs are in place, it's fairly easy to zip right by. This is of obvious concern to the merchants who rely on tourist traffic for a living.

The city's planning to put up some entry signs, but another idea has surfaced lately: a big, three-sided sign, complete with an ad-bearing video screen on each side, to be located at Sutter Hill. It's got a few Gold Country features -- large timbers, some rock, a Knight wheel -- but from the first time I saw the renderings the other night, I just knew it was all wrong for Sutter Creek.

I don't know about you, but something tells me that tourists don't come here for video ads, even when those ads are shown on a pseudo-Gold Country base and interspersed with pictures of downtown. If I were headed to a historic town for a visit, I'd certainly think twice if its gateway featured video ads for the local car dealer and casino. Let's hope the city and business owners find a more suitable way to direct tourist traffic to town.

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