LA City Council holds off on controversial Metro plan for 80 digital billboards

The Los Angeles City Council this week was unable to pass a plan to erect about 80 digital billboards on properties owned by Metro throughout the city.

While council members voted 11-3 in favor of the proposal on Friday, Dec. 8, the proposal required a 12-vote majority to pass. Councilmembers Traci Park, Nithya Raman and Katy Yaroslavsky voted against the plan, and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson was absent during the vote.

The issue will now be held over one week to Dec. 15, when council members will again attempt to approve it. The city would then need to adopt an ordinance to enact the plan.

Digital billboards would go up at or near city landmarks and Metro stations, such as Union Station, Pershing Square, Universal Studios, LAX and adjacent to freeways and the Los Angeles River.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who voted in favor of the plan, said he did have some concerns as they move to install these new signs at a rapid pace, but remain slow to install bicycle infrastructure near stations.

“I’d like to take the opportunity with this new funding, ultimately for us to prioritize those safety improvements for biking and walking,” Blumenfield said. “I want to signal my intent to ensure that we use a meaningful portion of the revenue generated from these signs to make sure that those stations are actually safer for the people that are using them.”

While Metro and several city leaders are excited about the plan, and how it can serve as a funding source for transportation programs and services, there were several parties who opposed the project.

Dustin Batton, executive director of Scenic Los Angeles, a part of the national nonprofit Scenic America, said during public comment that he could not begin to “express our disappointment on the rushed effort to slam this ordinance through committees and council.”

“This contract is currently 20 years long. None of you will be on the council in 20 years, but all of us will be impacted by your decision,” Batton said.

He added, “We do not want more billboards in Los Angeles.”

Batton noted Scenic Los Angeles galvanized their supporters to send in more than 13,000 individuals letters to council offices, in which they expressed their opposition to the plan.

Several Angelenos from across the city also spoke out against the plan. Many of them said the digital signs would be a blight on the roads and the views of the city, and they also worried the signs could distract drivers — leading to an increase of vehicle collisions.

Officially called the Transportation Communication Network, the plan consists of a network of digital billboards equipped with intelligent technology components.

According to report from L.A. City Planning, the digital billboards are intended to “promote roadway efficiency, improve public safety, augment existing communication capacity related to transportation and provide outdoor advertising to generate revenue to fund new and expanded transportation programs.”

It’s also intended to reduce static signs throughout the city — nearly 200 existing, non-electric billboards would be removed in exchange for the new digital signs.

The agency previously reported that the estimated revenue generated from the program will be about $500 million over 20 years, and it would be split between Metro and the city 50-50.