VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — For decades, the "No Cursing" signs have been a talking point for tourists and locals.
City leaders said they are coming down. Many of the signs are hard to read because people covered the message up with several stickers.
The Atlantic Avenue Association President said he wanted them down because they are old, ugly and negative. Resort Advisory Commission Chairperson BJ Baumann said members the commission voted last week to take the signs down.
She explained, “I think it’s time. I think it’s appropriate. It was a program that was appropriate when they were put out. It served its purpose, and now it’s time for them to go away.”
Baumann told 13News Now that the commission said there are too many signs at the Oceanfront. She also agreed about it giving the area a negative feel.
“We took it from the context of there’s just too many darn signs over the years. They have accumulated and it is its own form of litter,” Baumann explained.
Baumann said some locals call the signs iconic and want to buy them from the city. She said it’s not up to her, but she had ideas!
She said, “We could auction them, and, I don’t know, we can buy flowers for Atlantic Avenue or the money can go towards a charity.”
Vacationers on Monday said they had no idea what the signs meant.
Hayley Boczar explained, “I would have thought it was an advertisement for something. I paid no mind to it.”
“I thought it was don’t text and drive because they are text characters and it just looks like something people would text,” said Austin Oney
While the signs will leave, the law will not. Virginia Beach Police said swearing at the Oceanfront is still a class four misdemeanor.