StopKnoxvilleBlight.org
Billboards in the Digital Age
Unsafe (and unsightly) at any speed
     
  Digital billboards can often be seen from more than a half-mile away, uselessly and adversely affecting visual quality before the viewer is close enough to read the sign. That violates the spirit of requirements regarding the spacing of signs along the highway.
     
"...we are the one unavoidable media. There is no mute button, no off switch. You can't change the channel. We're there."
“No empirical studies are necessary for reasonable people to conclude that billboards pose a traffic hazrad, since by their very nature they are designed to distract drivers and their passengers from maintaining their view of the road.”
  

“For in-your-face results that won’t end in a restaining order, out-of-home is the only way to go.”
- lamaroutdoor.com
- Paul Meyer
Industry President
- Major Media of the Southeast v. City of Raleigh  

For additional information, go to scenicknoxville.org
Contact city council.
 

1. Community outcry in other places:

Click here to learn about the Legan and Bushnell families who see this “Dirty, Sexy, Money” message, over and over again, along with other changing ads that push products and services.

Learn how adjacent landowners are negatively impacted.

See how one digital impacts the Cleveland skyline.

What Do Digital Billboards Look Like?

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1273032554

2. Safety Information:

FHWA safety study underway: Gloria M. Shepherd, Associate Administrator of Planning, Environment, and Realty for the Federal Highway Administration, announced that a study related to the use of new technology on outdoor advertising signs is proceeding. The initial phase will identify and evaluate the most significant issues and develop research methods needed to secure definitive results. She anticipates the second phase of the research study and final report to be completed in the latter part of 2009.

Maryland DOT’s peer review of two Outdoor Advertising Association Studies:
Critical Peer Review Raises Serious Questions about two OAAA Safety Studies

3. Condemnation Costs:

To avoid paying higher condemnation costs, Marietta, Georgia city council voted to prohibit digital billboards. Because these billboards cost up to a half-million dollars to build and because they have leases with multiple advertisers, they will likely cost more than five times what we now pay for traditional billboards.

4. Environmental concerns:

See power points presented to the San Antonio City Council in Dec. 2007 that include information on potential light and noise pollution:

Power Point on Digital Billboards Presented at San Antonio City Council Nov 2007

AIA Power Point on Digitals to San Antonio City Council Nov. 2007

5. How Anaheim, CA attempted to improve the city through a billboard removal incentive program:

City of Anaheim Council Agenda Report on the Billboard Exchange Program

City of Anaheim Billboard Exchange Program
Summary of Proposals

For more information on digital billboards visit Scenic America's website.