Happy Trails on Province's Highways, Roads

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Happy Trails on Province's Highways, Roads

Whether it is a full-blown vacation or just a short road trip, most of us enjoy getting away. As you travel through Nova Scotia, the province's charm and beauty can make you wonder "does it get any better than this?"

Actually, it does.

It gets more beautiful, and easier to navigate, as the province's new roadside advertising program takes effect.

Beginning July 15, the regulations on advertising signs on provincial highways and roads changed. Highway billboards are being replaced by standardized logos at major interchanges, and advertising on secondary and local roads will be strictly controlled. Sign owners must register with their local area office of the Department of Transportation and Public Works by Nov. 1.

"Something had to be done," says Eric Mullen, a partner in Canadvac Travel Services Ltd., and past-president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia. "You could be leaving a national park, for example, and encounter limbs cut off trees and advertising nailed to the trunks."

Canadvac works with 150 European tour operators. The company provides anything a visitor to Eastern Canada might want, from accommodation to meals to activities.

"Many of them have commented to me that they're impressed they can leave the airport and the city, and within minutes be in a fishing village, in surroundings that feel timeless," Mullen says. "Cluttered or inconsistent advertising signs can detract from that."

Finding the Balance

At the same time, the province understands that signs are important to both business and travellers.

"These new regulations are about striking a balance. For safety and visual reasons, we need to remove clutter from our main highways while allowing businesses reasonable freedom to advertise on secondary highways," says Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works.

Under the new program, logo signs will be posted near off-ramps on 100-series, controlled-access highways. The logos will contain advertisements for nearby businesses that provide key motorist services, such as food, lodging and fuel.

On secondary highways, standardized signs will be posted at intersections, bearing the names of businesses of interest to travellers and the distances to them.

As well, traveller-related businesses will be allowed to put up individual signs on secondary highways and roads.

A Gradual Approach

The province recognizes that signs are a business investment. It plans to gradually remove signs that don't meet the new standards. Depending on the sign, the transition period will be between one and five years.

As carefully as it was crafted, the new approach won't satisfy everyone, but it will lead to improved views and happier tourists.

"I share their concerns," says Mullen. "As a business operator, you need to be able to get your message across. But I look at those view planes from the limited-access highways as a public good, like a park, or the Halifax Public Gardens. No one would expect to be able to advertise in those places."

Change is Good

A stakeholder advisory committee will monitor the introduction of the new sign policy and provide advice and recommendations on major issues. The committee will include representatives of business, government and communities.

The results should make the province even more traveller- friendly, something we can all be happy about.