A barrage of billboards greets SLO County drivers
A recent Commentary in The Tribune, (“All four of California’s land borders are shabby,” Dec. 30) argued that visitors coming into California from Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Baja are greeted with tacky commercialism.
Sadly, an argument could also be made that visitors arriving in San Luis Obispo County on Highway 101 from both the south and the north may be similarly disappointed when they confront billboards.
Businesses serving travelers can thrive without billboards. Years ago, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties eliminated billboards, and Monterey County eliminated most of theirs. Yet in San Luis Obispo County, billboards barrage drivers and degrade the scenery visitors expect to find here.
Since tourism is one of our leading industries, one might assume that billboards are necessary to guide tourists to restaurants and motels. However, most of the billboards are unrelated to highway services for travelers, and some even advertise businesses in other counties.
In this day of smartphones and travel guides, billboards are increasingly irrelevant. Tourists coming to this county, in addition to locals, would surely appreciate unblighted scenery more than vistas obscured and cheapened by billboards.
Cal Wilvert, Publicity Assistant, and Sherri Danoff, Chair, of Protect Scenic 101 (PS101)
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 3:27 PM with the headline "A barrage of billboards greets SLO County drivers."