I’m very pleased to hear that the city is finally taking some action to clean up the blight caused by every inconsiderate boob who seems to think that the public right of way is their own private billboard (July 29 Acorn letters, “Garage sale and fundraiser signs deserve to be seen.”)

The city pays people to clean up signs? I’ll do it for free!

I’ve been complaining to the city about this issue for years. I can tell you that garage sale signs are generally abandoned by the people who put them up. In the rare case that a sign is removed, it’s often only partially removed, with tape and remnants left behind to rot.

Allowing people to put up their own signs around the city is just a bad idea.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. The city should continue to address this issue aggressively up to and including handing out fines. People often put their address on the sign, so it should be easy to find them.

2. The sign ordinance should be amended such that anyone who wants to have a garage sale must get a permit. Since only two garage sales are allowed per year, the permitting process would facilitate record keeping. Along with a permit, two city-approved A-frame signs will be loaned out that can be placed only on the nearest cross street and the actual street where the sale is being conducted. It’s unnecessary to put directional signs far away because shoppers systematically search neighborhoods at any hint of a sale.

As draconian as this sounds, it’s a good compromise that will weed out people who abuse the system yet will allow garage sales to serve their intended purpose: to get rid of some extra stuff once or twice a year. Howard Gantz Newbury Park