What You're Saying About Billboards in Eldersburg

A recent article exploring billboards in Eldersburg met with a variety of responses from readers.

Here's a sampling of what people said on Facebook and in the comments section. You're welcome to add your own thoughts below.

Chris Vance:

"They are eyesores, especially the neon, blinking, and levered changing ones. No question!"

Rick:

"Antiquated, ugly, an embarrassment to the community, a sign of weak government. I go out of my way to NOT patronize businesses who advertise this way."

John Lopez:

"Not only are they eyesore but the new flashing, blinking, dancing, wiggiling, HARD TO READ, electronic ones are an insult to you and a traffic safety problem!"

Jim:

"Eyesores, with no redeeming social value. It's the same as texting except you can't control it. The active content billboards are the worst."

Dorothy Scanlan:

"Billboards are an absolute blight on the landscape. You won't find any outside this country."

Ross Dangel:

"We definitely need less billboards and they make our community look trashy and low class, especially during campaign seasons. Our Commissioners and Planning Commission should be aggressively looking at ways to curtail their use inside more densely populated areas, where they often serve as a distraction to drivers."

"We should be increasing fees for their use and licensing them for further restrictions to discourage them as an advertising medium. There is no reason we should be issuing any more permits for new billboards, as I believe Carroll County has more in use currently per capita than any other jurisdiction in the state. If the county needs more revenue, increase the fees on billboards, just like the state has increased the tax on cigarettes to discourage their use."

Tom:

"If billboards are so terrible, why do your local merchants purchase space on them? Why do your politicians campaign on them? Why do your charitable organizations request space on them? Quite simply, you, the consumer, support it. You patronize those businesses, support those politicians, and donate to those charities in part because you saw it on a billboard. Given the limited circulation of the printed newspaper and the limited local focus of radio and tv, is there a better alternative to reach people with money to spend?"

"Personally, I enjoy billboards. They inform me about upcoming events (volunteer fire department carnivals, main street festivals, and haunted halloween attractions). They remind me to contribute to worthwhile causes (Maryland Food Pantry, United Way, and Homeless advocacy groups). And they help me generally find stuff. Plus, they take my mind off just how bad the traffic has become because we haven't adequately upgraded our roads and traffic systems nor implemented any effective mass transit program."