A recently approved plan to prevent polluted runoff from reaching Georgica Pond at a rest area on the south side of Montauk Highway in Wainscott will benefit water quality. However, the yet-to-be-priced undertaking does not address the hodgepodge of large signs usually posted there by community organizations. Officials have described the location as a “gateway” to East Hampton, which makes the tolerance of the unsightly — and probably illegal — signs somewhat contradictory.
At one point last year, 10 separate signs stood alongside the highway there. These included announcements for High Holy Day observances at the Bay Street Theater and Jewish Center of the Hamptons, signs pointing the way to a real estate open house, a classical music concert series, and a plea for new ambulance volunteers. It is much the same as one approaches downtown Montauk from the west — there we have seen signs for blood drives, art fairs, fishing tournaments, and, apparently without irony, signs calling for beautifying roadsides by not tossing litter from cars. And many of these remain up long after the events they advertise have passed.
In this digital age, there are more ways to get a message out than ever before. Social media can reach far more eyeballs than a road sign, and the region is served by more printed publications than seems possible. Decades ago, the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society led a charge to eliminate billboards. At a minimum, the officials of today should respect that precedent by ending their tolerance for signs already strictly limited by the town code.