Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
While state highways are strictly governed by regulations that limit the potentially driver-distracting elements of digital advertising signs, the city of Springfield doesn’t have its own local law on the books. That was highlighted last week when the city council approved a digital sign for White Oaks Plaza at the northwest corner of Veterans Parkway and Wabash Avenue, a decision one alderman wanted to hold off on to analyze accident data and whether adding a digital sign could further complicate the traffic situation at that busy intersection.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who represents the area east of Veterans Parkway, was mainly concerned about what the decision will mean for future requests, because “the city has no rules on digital billboards at this time,” he said Wednesday, following Tuesday’s council meeting where the approval was given. “We’re setting a very significant precedent here,” McMenamin said.
The digital sign will replace an existing illuminated pylon sign advertising White Oaks Plaza and will include a 36-by-10-foot video board on one side. Overall, it’s a roughly 1,400-square-foot, double-sided sign that will stand 40 feet tall.
A motion to postpone action on the sign came after McMenamin said he had recently come across data identifying the Veterans-Wabash intersection as having the second-highest number of accidents in the city; it ultimately failed 4-7. The council then approved the digital sign in a 9-1 vote, with McMenamin the lone dissenter.
McMenamin, after the vote, said he was “disappointed” with the direction the council went. “We don’t want our drivers looking at a sign that changes every 10 seconds and then getting back to driving,” he said.
According to city data, the Veterans-Wabash intersection, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15, logged 29 motor vehicle accidents, second highest in Springfield during that time frame.
***
The city’s traffic engineer, Lori Williams, addressed aldermen at Tuesday’s meeting and said, initially, the application called for showing commercials, which she would have opposed because of the potential for distracting passing motorists. The Illinois Department of Transportation already signed off on the request before the zoning application went before the city council last week, because of its planned proximity to a state highway, city officials said.
IDOT regulations limit the amount of time advertising graphics can be displayed on a screen and how long of a pause there must be between images, so the display couldn’t be showing commercials. Williams spoke to IDOT representatives about the proposed sign, and said because of the planned 45-degree angle orientation, the sign will only be visible to northbound and westbound traffic.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 