I have to admit that personally I hate these new high-powered changeable signs. Although I understand a business needing to get their message out, I find it truly impossible to "get the message" while I'm focusing on driving!
For the horrendous expense of these signs I think they're not necessarily getting the best bang for that buck!
WG and PBR - there is apparently a difference in zoning between Weirs Beach and Union Avenue, which allows the businesses in the Weirs to have their messages change in rotation, while the businesses on Union Ave. like Trustworthy Hardware, Mike's Quality Car Care, and Belknap Tire must limit themselves to one message per day. In all honesty I think the folks on Union Avenue probably get their message seen by far more people purely by virture of the fact that it's there long enough to absorb it while you're driving by. As proof, I can recall that Trustworthy has Cow Manure Fertilizer on sale, and that they were closed last Monday in honor of Memorial Day; Mike's Quality Car Care will help you out even if you don't have an appointment - just drive up the hill; and Belknap Tire is soon to welcome VanWorks Car Audio!
(plus they had a really nice message on their board for Easter - Kudo's to them!) Conversely, I cannot tell you a single message that I remember from any of the flashing signs I've passed recently.
So in the end, perhaps we'll begin to see these wildly expensive signs be reduced to slower messages - if for no other reason than to give the passers-by a chance to see it.
Meanwhile, Gene might just be onto something ... it has been pretty effective!
