Illinois Tollway (Credit: CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Illinois Toll Highway Authority is considering a proposal by CBS Outdoor to put digital billboards on the tollway oasis buildings.
The signs would be big–40 feet by 12 feet–and would be installed on either side of the buildings. They would be clearly visible to approaching drivers and would change about every ten seconds.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780′s Mike Krauser Reports
The toll authority, according to the Daily Herald, is concerned they might distract drivers. If the billboards go up, the agency will monitor whether they cause accidents.
CBS Outdoor, a subsidiary of the company that owns Newsradio 780 and CBS 2 (WBBM-TV), says it operates digital billboards in San Francisco and New York and there is no evidence they’ve caused any crashes.
6 Comments
I find digital billboards incredibly distracting. There is no way to regulate their brightness and I believe that billboards right in the middle of the tollway is a fatality waiting to happen.
Dear tollway managers… Please choose good over greed. I know its tempting to turn away a new source of revenue, but its time to start THINKING BEFORE DOING.
As a side note, our country has so gotten into advertisting that we’ve turned the aesthetics of our entire existence into a giant trash can. What ever happened to “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies”…. Those spacious skies are cluttered with advertisting and video everywhere you look. Time we turned off the electronic toys…. at least on our highways.
May 24, 2011 at 8:25 am
Fine. Governments will either raise taxes or raise tolls to pay for the roads. It isn’t free to build and maintain a vast transporation network. There are trade-offs to everything. One could argue that the entire Oasis itself is a distraction. Better yet, lets all close down the Tollways and stay home in bed without any risk of driving. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a risk free world. I support the Tollway and I feel safer than on the so called free expressways.
May 24, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Vincent,
We still have parks to enjoy Mother Nature and landmarks. This is our getaway from pretty much everything. Have you visited one yet? I hear that have good camping.
It’s a constant reminder to all drivers out there including me that you do need to keep the eyes out on the road–NOT complain about every little thing out there. Oh, there’s a turning radar antenna and it’s distracting us! Tear it down! Man, I was disgusted when they warned McDonald’s to stop playing videos! Those amber-colored displays help me get there on time or take an alternate route. As for the billboards–as long as they don’t reach the sky and use the dusk-to-dawn sensor to adjust the brightness they’re in good hands. Every outdoor electronic display has one. If they are not using it, they need to turn it back on or get it repaired.
May 24, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Oh, yeah. It would hurt to put a small, double-sided one inside. VERY helpful for AMBER alerts and I-PASS tips & tricks. Not to mention construction bulletins and road-work lane closures. : )
May 24, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Whoops. I meant to say “It wouldn’t hurt to put…” instead of “It would hurt…”
May 24, 2011 at 4:48 pm
I see this as an opportunity to keep the toll cost down and help us who are hurting in this economy, The issue should be cell phones and drunk drivers, Couldn’t these billobards provice valuable info as well.
Come on fold use a little common sense. Don’t always shoot a decent idea down!
May 24, 2011 at 10:48 pm