To the editor:

Regarding the proposed highway sign directing visitors to Langley. The stated size is 22-by-x 12 feet. This is not a sign, it’s a bloody billboard.

I offer a loud, resounding NO for such a sign on Highway 525. Today, a billboard for Langley, tomorrow a billboard for Joe’s Truck Repair. This is not the way to improve South Whidbey, Langley or any other place on the island.

Most of us live here, in part, to get away from such cheesy projects. The bad economy seems to be driving people to grab at any possible idea to get people into Langley.

I don’t think mucking up the landscape with billboard-size “signs” is the answer no matter how artistically they’re rendered.

I also detect an unpleasant competition among South Whidbey communities. If Clinton got a sign, Langley “should” have a sign (bigger, of course), then maybe Freeland will want a sign with flashing lights: “Keep going, folks. Freeland ahead!”

Who’s got the biggest is an unproductive game, and setting a precedent with big highway signs is just asking for trouble.

Molly Larson Cook

Coupeville