Explosion of elections signs: do they help or hinder?

EDMONTON - If you look pretty much anywhere on Edmonton streets, you can tell that we're knee-deep in the Alberta election. Ever since the writ was dropped on Monday, thousands of signs have popped up across the city as candidates desperately try to win over voters.

John Simmons, who coordinates Edmonton's bylaw program, says when erecting election signs, candidates should be mindful of the rules.

"We are looking for candidates to make sure their signs don't create a visual obstruction for traffic or pedestrians," he said.

Some of those rules include keeping signs at least 3 metres from curbs and 30 metres from marked intersections. Also, a candidate's signs aren't supposed to be placed within 20 metres of each other to avoid clusters.

Simmons adds that enforcement is done on a complaint-basis, so if people spot violations, they're encouraged to call 311.

Enforcing what some consider to be distracting eyesores is one thing - the other, though, is whether the candidates' strategy of blanketing constitudencies with signs is actually working to sway voters.

The people we spoke to don't seem to think so.

"The amount of signs doesn't really matter on my choice of who I'm going to vote for...because I've already made up my mind," said Dana, who added that she also finds the signs annoying.

Similarly, Richard told us that while the signs don't have an impact on him, since he already knows about the parties he's interested in, they may be an effective strategy for others who don't.

"I think they have a point for people who aren't up to speed on what information they need," he said. "I'm sure scientifically the more signs you see..it sinks in."

What do you think? Will all the election signs have an impact on how you vote? Join the discussion on our Facebook page or take our poll below:

With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News