(Photo by Casey Kuhn - KJZZ)

A pile of competing signs for businesses on Bell Road before the street closure.

The city of Surprise adopted a policy in 2009 to allow more signage to advertise small businesses in the West Valley. Council members voted this week to get those signs off the sidewalk.

Surprise City Council put the citywide temporary signage policy in place to combat the economic recession. The policy allowed A-frame signs and building banners, and eased restrictions on sign walkers.

CouncilmanSkip Hall says it was designed for local shops.

“Mostly very small businesses, the restaurants, the cleaners, the yogurt shop,” Hall said.

The city extended the policy and kept it in place during months-long construction at Bell Road and Grand Avenue.

Hall says the economy is on the upswing and after eight years, it’s time to repeal the policy.

"And remove the clutter from the streets and enable the consumer to focus on permanent signage," he said.

Now, A-frames are not allowed, and businesses have until April to comply.