Highway pollution

[fabrian8]

As a frequent overseas visitor to Kelowna ( I have visited for six weeks a year for the past six years from Australia) I am disappointed by the appalling advertising billboards that line hwy 97 on the approach to the Bennett bridge from West Kelowna.
These billboards are a blight on the landscape, blocking the view of the beautiful lake with the city in the background as you approach the bridge,which, itself, is a sight to behold.
I realise that the billboards are a money making business, but, perhaps , if locals boycotted the businesses that advertise on them it may send a message to the owners of these monstrosities, that, seeing your wonderful city from the hwy ,as you enter it , is a perfect advertisement for all that Kelowna has to offer .
I sincerely hope that all the businesses that advertise on the billboards realise that they are polluters as much as illegal dumpers are ! Brian , Sydney Australia.

[cv23]

Unfortunately Brian the billboards are on native land and the natives get paid for the structures presence on their land not what's on it. Even if consumers boycotted the advertising businesses the owners of the billboards, rather than remove them, would just leave them there to rot likely leaving a far worse eyesore.

[vinnied]

They are pretty ugly arnt they, and its not just here, theres signs like that all over BC, and not always on native land. But regardless of how ugly they are though. It does makes me question why they didnt erect them on the other side where it wouldn't obstruct the view.

[matai]

As a frequent overseas visitor to Kelowna ( I have visited for six weeks a year for the past six years from Australia) I am disappointed by the appalling advertising billboards that line hwy 97 on the approach to the Bennett bridge from West Kelowna.

You should [try to] give Christy [Clark] a call to address your concerns. It's her parking lot highway and she is its official representative, and she also reports to the province's premier whenever they talk to each other. Hopefully you might be able to get a hold of her, as she doesn't pick up the phone nor does she replies to her email messages.... Her office is in Westbank but she lives in Vancouver, so that her son can attend private school while our kids don't get to go to school, amongst other things.

Some Kelowna-area candidates had positioned themselves as good, local, choices for the riding, while criticizing Clark as an outsider. Clark currently lives in Vancouver, where her son goes to school.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.1311488

Here's her contact info made available online but don't bother... really.
http://kelowna.cioc.ca/record/KNA0852

Instead I suggest you eat her cookies, the Christy Chunks, it will leave a bitter better taste in your mouth:
http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelow ... t-to-Clark

And finally, instead of getting rid of the trash billboards and make the Okanagan look clean, she spends millions of taxpayer dollars for studies studying the study talking about possibly a study studying a possible 2nd crossing study over Okanagan Lake, maybe, maybe not, will depend of the study.

And to add to the insult, the government recently took down the billboards in Oliver along the Highway, with a view on frigging... trees and fields!!!! While they keep the ones hiding the best views of the whole Okanagan Valley in Klona. lol. Government logic.

[gman313]

they are not that big of a deal. hardly pollution

[Rwede]

You should [try to] give Christy [Clark] a call to address your concerns. It's her parking lot highway and she is its official representative, and she also reports to the province's premier whenever they talk to each other. Hopefully you might be able to get a hold of her, as she doesn't pick up the phone nor does she replies to her email messages.... Her office is in Westbank but she lives in Vancouver, so that her son can attend private school while our kids don't get to go to school, amongst other things.

Well that was a waste of bandwidth. Any sane person knows that Christy Clark has zero jurisdiction on what happens on Indian reserves.

[tgm929]

I believe sane is the key word there.

[Glacier]

British Columbia has almost 1 million square kilometers of land. If you travel all this way to visit BC only to stare at an the 0.01% of the province with signs, maybe you should think about possibly looking at the 99.99% of the province without said pollution next time around. This could be a simple as not going over the bridge. Go the other way into the Kootenays. When I go visit somewhere, and I don't like what I see, I don't go back. It's that simple.

[Catri]

I realise that the billboards are a money making business, but, perhaps , if locals boycotted the businesses that advertise on them it may send a message to the owners of these monstrosities, that, seeing your wonderful city from the hwy ,as you enter it , is a perfect advertisement for all that Kelowna has to offer .

I think boycotts are difficult to arrange and enlist people into. The advertisers on the billboards have too much turn over to keep an accurate track of which businesses are on the list as well. It might be better to make your negative impression of local businesses that use those billboards to advertise known to those businesses directly. I wouldn't bother trying to let SaveOn Foods know you don't like it though, they belong to the same corporate group as Pattison Outdoor (the billboard company).

It also might not be a bad idea to write a letter to WFN letting them know how disappointingly contrary billboards are to the image of Canada's aboriginal people as custodians of the land.

[delSol97]

*removed*

[matai]

One would think the billboards are on the highway's right-of-way...

[Hassel99]

One would think the billboards are on the highway's right-of-way...

Not one with knowledge of land ownership in BC.

Billboards are illegal in BC, except on native land. It is too bad that some people in our society get to play by their own rules.

[Rwede]

One would think the billboards are on the highway's right-of-way...

Have you written your apology to Christy Clark yet, since you were proven wrong and offside with your post?

[Merry]

Those billboards ARE an eyesore, plain and simple. And if the First Nations had any sort of civic pride whatsoever they wouldn't allow them.

[matai]

Have you written your apology to Christy Clark yet, since you were proven wrong and offside with your post?

Apologizing what for? Did I say anything erroneous? Is she the official representative forWestside-Klona? Does her son attends private school in Venkouver? Does she have a cookie in her name? Does she replies to emails? Is she spending millions on useless studies? Does she lives in the lower mainland?

Here's where the apologies you want can go: