Letter: Commercial signs on highway should be appealing

This letter is in response to Tim Burke’s article in the February 22 edition of your newspaper. While I am in agreement with him regarding some of the signs that dominate the Highway 160 corridor, large commercial signs of this type dot the landscape of many roadways leading into towns like ours throughout the country.

It is the homemade makeshift signs that make the roadway unappealing and those who have illegally erected them should be instructed to remove them. I would assume that a reputable business owner in town would want a sign on the road to be in excellent condition in order to advertise their business.

My real problem is, while the signs may be unappealing, has anyone noticed the overgrown brush and trash that lines the roadway? On Highway 160 as you enter Pahrump in the area of the racetrack and where there are large parcels of land, a cleanup may be a little more difficult.

However, approaching and beyond Homestead/Winery Road the owners of those properties should be compelled to keep their roadway frontage free from garbage and the overgrown dead brush removed.

If in fact, we are actually trying to entice businesses to come here (not sure if that’s the case) then the main thoroughfares leading to the town should have some appeal. Some businesses actually take pride in their frontage and I commend them for that. I am certain the owners of the neglected properties could somehow be held to a standard. If for some reason they cannot be contacted and the town and county employees are in fact “overwhelmed” with work, maybe using individuals who are performing some type of community service to get it cleaned up is the answer, I’m sure someone has thought about this already.

I am often amused at the situations that some find irritating here yet some of the obvious problems are overlooked and neglected. Hopefully, in the future, we will see and hear of some new ways of thinking.

Thomas Mazzola