Muskoka Wharf businesses get the go-ahead for sandwich boards

by Allyson Snelling

Sep 26, 2007

In a bid to boost shoulder season visibility of wharf shops, Gravenhurst will let merchants put free-standing sandwich boards along Muskoka Road 169 on an interim basis.

The move was approved recently by town council’s economic development committee. Community economic development officer Lance Sherk said it has been an ongoing request by wharf merchants who have noticed a decline in business during the shoulder seasons.

“The wharf is still a very new business. It’s barely a year old,” Sherk told the Banner. “There are a lot of people outside of the community who still don’t know it’s there and what it’s all about.”

Sherk said signage for wharf businesses aligned perpendicular to Highway 169 is difficult for the travelling public to see, and A-frame signage can be permitted on a short-term basis for the autumn season.

He explained businesses throughout town utilize sandwich boards for advertising. “We want everyone to be treated equally, so that’s all we’re allowing wharf merchants to do, to be treated equally,” he said. “We are affording the same opportunities to the wharf that have been afforded in the downtown.”

Signage on the boulevard of the highway is a District of Muskoka matter. Though the district does not endorse A-frame signage, Sherk said district staff has agreed to the signage as an interim measure.

A number of conditions apply, including the requirement that the A-frame signs be removed from the highway shoulders once snowplowing begins.

Sherk said in the meantime, Muskoka Wharf businesses will be developing large banner signs to be installed in the future as a permanent solution to their visibility problem.

Currently, the town of Gravenhurst does not have a sign bylaw, but Sherk hopes to establish a sign committee that will target consistent signage throughout the municipality.