Erect This? Why?

So, I have not written about billboards, and it is a HOT local issue right now, yes? Even with the clubby set? I have done a little research - done a lot of googling of ugly billboards (are there any pretty ones?)- not much else, I will admit, only enough to make me join the chorus of wishing the Bartkowski Investment Group would crawl back under whichever rock they slithered out from because as I understand it, I could soon see billboards right where one of the best BYOBs in the area is? So we could be going for a haute upscale and EXPENSIVE nosh at Sola and look up and see a tacky billboard? Seriously, what is everyone thinking? Is Lancaster Avenue a super highway? Do I really want to drive down Lancaster Avenue and see more crap than I have to look at already?

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing attractive about billboards. Ugly, ugly, ugly.....

Posted on Fri, May. 8, 2009
Billboards apparently a BIG no-no in Delco
By WILLIAM BENDER
Philadelphia Daily News
benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255

Billboard battle enters Haverford front
Published: Friday, May 8, 2009
By LOIS PUGLIONESI Times Correspondent

So, why would this company want to put up billboards when the Wall Street Journal is reporting a decrease in billboard advertising?

MAY 11, 2009, 7:56 A.M. ET Clear Channel Outdoor, CC Media Post Losses

Then I saw this article which basically brings up other issues, so I have to say WTF on billboards, people? How do we turn these people OFF?

Electronic billboards seen as another roadside distraction
By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
First published in print: Monday, May 11, 2009

Q: I travel on I-90 every day to and from work, and everyone who travels on that road knows you need to pay a lot of attention to the traffic.

Is it really necessary to have a billboard that scrolls advertisements and a five-day forecast? I think this is a major distraction to everyone driving. Do we really need one more reason to take our eyes off of the road?

— Donna Zelanko, Averill Park

A: It does seem ironic that these flashy electronic billboards are springing up within just a couple of miles of the state Thruway Authority headquarters. That's where, two years ago, officials removed a hillside display with shrubs and flowers in a Thruway logo design in response to a suggestion that the display violated the authority's own rules governing distracting signs.

It's worth noting that the Thruway Authority has more power to regulate signs along its right of way than do state or local governments under federal laws.....Even so, there is an amalgam of federal, state and local regulations that puts some limits on highway billboards. And more restrictions and guidelines are being considered as technology evolves to include electronic (or, if you prefer, "digital" or "video" or "LED") displays.....Originally, federal laws governing signs along America's highways focused on scenic and environmental concerns. Legislation passed in 1958 was followed by 1965's Highway Beautification Act, which was amended in 1978 to put more limits on local governments seeking removal of billboards along federal highways.

These days, driver distraction and safety are at the center of much of the debate. Research on that point is ongoing in studies conducted and supported by the Federal Highway Administration.