MATT OLBERDING/Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, October 7, 2006 7:00 pm
Lincoln may soon join hundreds of other cities in allowing digital billboards.
A zoning change approved recently by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission, would for the first time allow the signs in the city.
The change was sought by Lamar Outdoor Advertising, which already uses digital technology on billboards in 44 states and wants to start using it in Lincoln, said General Manager Martha Lee Heyne.
“It’s new technology that’s being used across the nation,” Heyne said.
The new technology that fuels the digital billboards is light emitting diodes, or LEDs, which are essentially little lightbulbs that are used in everything from traffic lights to jumbo video screens, including Memorial Stadium’s HuskerVision screens.
The technology has been around for awhile, but has only been used on billboards for a few years. Lamar put its first one up in Baton Rouge, La., in 2001.
Lamar has significantly increased its deployment of the digital billboards in the past year. According to its most recent financial report, the company’s capital spending for the digital billboards increased to $37 million in the first six months of this year from $369,000 in the first six months of 2005.
Locally the LED technology has been used in on-premise signs for businesses such as convenience stores and fast-food restaurants.
But up to now local law has prohibited its use on billboards.
The advantage of the technology for Lamar and other billboard companies is that it allows multiple businesses to advertise daily on the same board, as opposed to traditional billboards, which accommodate only one advertiser for a period of weeks or months.
Allowing billboards to have electronic images does raise some issues, such as the distraction of motorists and the amount of light the sign emits.
The president of Scenic America, an anti-billboard group, has called them “10 times worse” than traditional billboards.
But the city and Lamar worked to address many concerns with new language in the zoning ordinance.
For instance, don’t expect to see scrolling messages or mini-commercials.
The zoning change will require the billboards to keep the images stationary for at least 10 seconds. That means no video or other animation.
The 10-second hold, along with a requirement that the digital billboards be at least 5,000 feet apart are taken right out of state law governing the billboards along highways, said Planning Director Marvin Krout.
The new boards also will have to meet brightness standards and be turned off between midnight and 5 a.m.
While the boards’ main function will be commercial advertising, they can and will be used to broadcast public service announcements and emergency information, such as Amber Alerts, Heyne said.
The zoning change still must be approved by the City Council, and Heyne said the company hasn’t formalized any plans for when or how many of the digital billboards will go up.
“We’re going to transition to these based on market demand,” she said.
Krout said it was his understanding that the company planned to try out four to six and then expand if they are successful.
The digital boards can go up on existing structures, so new billboard locations will not be necessary.
However, the company does have a “bank” of credits earned for billboards taken down, so it will be able to add a few new locations if it chooses.
After the credits are used up, the company will have to take down three billboards for every new digital one it puts up.
But that will still be net gain for Lamar, as Heyne said each board will have up to six advertisers.
While the change will be a big one for Lincoln and some people will not like it, no one spoke in opposition to it at the Planning Commission hearing and Heyne said she has heard no complaints.
Krout said he was initially skeptical but now is OK with the change.
He said he was impressed with Lamar digital billboards he studied in the Kansas City area.
“I think it’s crisp and good looking,” he said. “But it will be different.”
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.