Letter: A-boards bombard our attention

Letter: Your article on A-frame signs misses the wider point. In Shrewsbury and many other towns there appears to be a sign "arms war" going on with ever bigger signs on buildings advertising them for rent/sale or advertising shops' products.

There is research that such competition for our attention has damaging effects on our mental health; Sao Paulo recently banned all advertising hoardings and found this improved its residents' well-being. The calming effect of Shrewsbury's architecture and river on our stress levels is being negated by the bombardment we experience from advertising.

Road signs similarly compete for our attention and even when our conscious mind blocks out such demands we physiologically react in adverse ways to such sensory bombardment. I suggest a few counter measures:

1. An enforceable maximum size for any sign affixed to a building, no larger than is needed to read what is on the sign.

2. Estate agents to only use small signs signifying buildings are for rent/sale, and these to be removed immediately after being rented/sold.

3. A survey of all road signs, removing those that are superfluous (eg. advertising for new housing developments) and a reduction in size of all those deemed essential to the minimum size needed for road users to read the sign.

Dr Guy Holmes

Shrewsbury