Just like an outdoor movie ...
Los Angeles has many miles of gritty urban freeways, but some of the most hard-edged lie along Interstate 5 just south of downtown.
Litter is constantly strewn along the shoulder and the industrial corridor is full of aged plants, grain elevators and ticky-tacky motels.
It is here, however, that the nation’s most-prominent electronic billboard was recently erected to promote the Citadel outlet shopping center, an architectural landmark amid the urban decay.
A series of five massive billboards, four of them advanced technology electronic displays, stretch for about a quarter mile along the north side of the I-5.
“There is nothing like it in the world,” said Steve Craig, the real estate magnate who put up the displays.
The LED displays, each of which are 30 feet high and are perched four stories above the freeway, cost $7.5 million. The investment has generated a sharp increase in shopping at the center, boosting sales by more than 25% in recent weeks, Craig said.
It may give motorists, state highway officials and law enforcement a taste of what is coming in the future as the electronic displays drop in price and the advertising industry sees new opportunities in a captive highway audience. An estimated quarter-million motorists drive by the displays daily.
The trend also promises to test the attention of drivers, whose eyes are called to the brilliant high-definition images that are vastly more commanding than any older generation highway displays.
Craig said his signs conform to all local, state and federal laws.
“There is no reason to believe that signs using this technology represent any kind of hazard,” he said.
Craig is probably correct because government and private safety groups have done little to examine how advanced technology displays affect public safety.
Federal regulators have not undertaken any substantive research on such billboards in recent years, a period of time when displays using light emitting diodes have revolutionized highway displays. In many ways, private businesses and the technology itself are racing ahead of the slow-moving bureaucracy at the Federal Highway Administration.
When Craig says there is nothing like his displays in the world, it is hardly an idle boast. The system has eight electronic displays, two facing in each direction at four locations, and two static displays at one location.
Given the visual blight that surrounds the Citadel, it seems ridiculous to argue that these billboards represent a setback to highway beautification. In fact, I drive by them every day, and I am often mesmerized by their images. Thankfully, I haven’t rear-ended anybody.
Hollywood lights
The electronic displays use far more LEDs than most outdoor signs, meaning they provide high-resolution images in full color. The system has the capability of showing full motion, though Craig said he never intended to use that capability and acknowledges it would be against state and federal law.
“We know that would be problematic from a safety standpoint,” he said. “We know some people might be inclined to watch it. Our fear is that if there were an accident, somebody might come after us. Why take that risk?”
In Craig’s view, however, the static displays do not distract drivers. But there are different opinions on that issue. Officials at the California Department of Transportation have received 10 complaints about the displays. And veterans at the California Highway Patrol say privately that they are aghast at the prominence of the displays.
The displays are near what CHP patrol officers call the Washington Curve, a section of I-5 that bends near Washington Boulevard, a long-standing bottleneck. It is uncertain whether the displays have contributed to that congestion, a point even Craig acknowledges.
“We have heard talk about it, but I don’t think anybody has quantified it,” he said.
Few restrictions
There is nothing in federal or state law that regulates the size or clarity of an electronic display. The California Motor Vehicle Code does have a provision (VC 21466.5) that regulates the intensity of lighting from business displays or other sources, though it is so technical that police say they almost never even try to enforce it.
The law says, “The brightness reading of an objectionable light source shall be measured with a 1 1/2 degree photoelectric brightness meter” and that the measured brightness “shall not be more than 1,000 times the minimum measured brightness in the driver’s field of view, except ....” You can see it takes a PhD in physics to even figure out this law.
Craig’s attorney said his billboards fully comply with this rule.
Under his current permit, Craig can use the displays only to advertise stores, products and services at the Citadel. However, he is seeking permission from CalTrans to sell the display space or time to other off-premise advertisers. Under the law, such off-premise advertising is subject to stricter controls than on-premise advertising.
The intent of the rule is to give businesses along roads freedom to put up signs, but limit general types of billboards that are rented out for advertising.
Clearly, the CalTrans decision, which officials say will come in the next 30 to 45 days, will not affect whether there is a billboard.
But it could set a precedent for other businesses that would seek to put up electronic displays that could sell advertising, as well as promote their own products or services.
Ralph Vartabedian can be reached at ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com.
