Hey, BRO just ate my post. Here it is again.

WhyNotGuy, the students that Best Mart knows by name are the ones they illegally sell cigarettes to. Go by there some time before classes start and feast your eyes on all the kids smoking in front of Best Mart. Under the circumstances, their awning is the least of their crimes.

platt4 is right and it isnt just snobbery. Backlist plastic awnings are entirely appropriate for shiny new builidings that are designed for them, but they disfigure every old building that they're pasted on to. Our old buildings are made of authentic materials, which is why canvas awnings enhance them rather than detracting from them.

I know the bubble awnings don't exactly give off the image of "quaintness" and affluence, but we're really going down a slippery slope when we start legislating arbitrary aesthetic details on storefronts.

Part of being a good urban street involves embracing a quirky diversity of signage and fixtures that adorn storefronts. Great cities are great because of their juxtapositions and unpredictability.

Forcing all storefronts to adhere to arbitrary aesthetic guidelines will end up yielding an urban street that look more like sexed up Benderson-style development or perhaps a themed resort at best. Homogeneity makes for poor urbanism.

I believe that one of the major factors that contributed to the rivival of NYC's Times Square is that now all signage is mandated to be sufficiently large, unique, and well-lit, providing for a spectacular tourist draw. It's well within a motivated city's rights (or Suburban villiage - see East Aurora) to require that buildings in certain districts conform to a planning standard.

Almost every zoning code int he country already have regulations for signage. The slippery slope was started a long time ago in a country far far away. The difference is most places just simple do not enforce or care about the final product enough.

Signage can be a wonderful part of the urban experience but it can also be a detriment.

Also, I'd like to point out that I've seen too many "EV-friendly" signs (that medieval/ renaissance village style) that are so tiny and badly placed that they're only legible if one is standing within 4 feet of it while walking by. Passing motorists have little hope of making out what business in particular it might be.

This is Buffalo...a city where most people with discretionary income drive as their primary means of transportation. Signs have to be legible for motorists cruising by at 20-30 mph. If passing drivers can read the sign, there is much more of a chance they might pursue interest in that business at a later time when they park and get out. Big bright signs can be a necessity for those businesses who wanted to be notice by everyone who passes.

Simple: Canvas = Good; Plastic/Backlit = BAD

I believe that one of the major factors that contributed to the rivival of NYC's Times Square is that now all signage is mandated to be of the spectacular variety, or at least sufficiently large, unique, and well-lit, providing for a spectacular tourist draw.