Billboard Plan: L.A.’s Image at Stake

“Freeway Billboard Foes Cite Safety Concerns” (June 18) says the L.A. City Council’s billboard plan will allow “up to 70 massive roadside advertisements along the city’s busiest freeways. In exchange, the billboard industry will take down more than 2,000 smaller billboards along city streets.” The plan would allow for 45 to 70 standard large billboards to be placed along nonlandscaped, industrialized zones on the freeway in exchange for the removal of 2,000 large-, medium-and small-sized legal billboards. The largest-size billboards allowed along the freeways would actually be smaller than the 800-square-foot billboards that already exist in some parts of the city.

It is also important to point out that the council plan would remove all illegal billboards and require billboard companies to show proof of ownership before the exchange program would even begin. All of these mechanisms are a part of the council’s intent to crack down on illegal signs and provide an accurate starting point before the exchange process begins. This is hardly “a political sellout” to the billboard industry. All along, my major concern has been to remove the blight from our neighborhoods and to create a fair process to get billboards permanently removed. This plan will accomplish both goals.

Mark Ridley-Thomas

Council Member, 8th District

Regarding the proposal to allow billboards along the city’s freeways: While driver distraction may be an issue, preservation of the image of our city is the most compelling consideration against this proposal. The freeways outside of L.A. are cluttered with billboards. These areas are therefore perceived to be different, and outside of the city. By contrast, the landscaping and lack of billboards along L.A.’s freeways represent a subtle but vast monument to the city’s identity, making L.A. feel more urbane. Billboards belong to L.A.’s boulevards; removing a few will not meaningfully change this perception. However, adding a few billboards to the freeways will erase one of the defining experiences of our city. The City Council should consider the profound effect this proposal will have on Los Angeles and reject it.

Jeffrey Allsbrook

Los Angeles