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Billboards Plan could eliminate, bolster some I-75 billboards Scenic Highways Rail Trail project could start in '10 Farmland Protection South Florida water managers pull plug on planned Everglades reservoir Scenic Things to Do Other Scenic Views
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National News: Aiming to clear out commercial clutter, billboard watchdogs From Rio to Toronto police outdoor ads.  Toronto activist Rami Tabello, coordinator of the website IllegalSigns.ca which tracks illegal billboards throughout the city, logs new billboards into his phone in Dundas Square. Tabello works with city council, reporting billboards that are built without meeting the specifications of their permits — or without permits at all. (Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor)By Moises Velasquez-Manoff | Staff Writer/ September 22, 2009 edition Toronto residents and civic officials discuss keeping an eye on outdoor advertisements. Watch Video Photo Gallery: Larger than life - Billboards around the worldStanding amid the assortment of new and old buildings in downtown Toronto, Rami Tabello clearly relishes his role as crusader: “Take a look at my handiwork,” he boasts, pointing to a rectangle of discolored brick several stories high on the side of a building. There’s nothing there, nothing to see. And that’s the point. Mr. Tabello whips out his iPhone and calls up a photo of what once occupied the space: a giant vinyl Bleu Forêt billboard of women’s tights erected, he says, without a permit. That sign and more than 120 others in this city are gone now because Tabello successfully challenged their legality. Tabello considers outdoor advertising like this pollution of public space – space that should be reserved for the public good. And he’s turned that sentiment into a crusade. In 2006, the former pension-fund consultant founded the nonprofit Illegal Signs Canada (IllegalSigns.ca), the mission statement of which is: “Our hobby is destroying illegal billboards with the rule of law.” That means 11 volunteers trolling for billboard infractions and reporting them to city officials.more... |
Billboards Plan could eliminate, bolster some I-75 billboards Doug Engle/Star-Banner
Traffic makes its way north on I-75 Tuesday morning by companies advertising on billboards. As part of a lawsuit settlement, billboards may be removed from scenic areas along I-75. But some locals feat that this will allow even more billboards in non-scenic urban areas and create more driving hazards.
By Cindy Swirko Staff Writer Published: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:44 p.m. A pilot program that could eliminate billboards in scenic areas along Interstate 75 but allow others to be built with a stronger structure is being proposed by the state Department of Transportation. The program is drawing interest from billboard companies but concern from beautification advocates, who say it could result in bigger, gaudier billboards. "The whole basis of the project is a study that our department prepared looking at the scenic characteristics and prioritizing those based on whether we feel we could approve the appearance of them," said John Garner, DOT right of way director. "We would ask the companies to remove signs from the most scenic and vulnerable areas. In exchange, we would give them the right to do some rebuilding of existing signs." DOT is also planning to spend $15 million to buy out and dismantle some billboards as part of a settlement between DOT and federal authorities stemming from DOT allowing some billboards to be rebuilt after they were blown down during the 2004 hurricane season. Under Florida law, billboards that are closer than 1,500 feet to another billboard or are on land that is not zoned commercial or industrial are not supposed to be rebuilt if they are destroyed. Such billboards are considered non-conforming but were allowed to remain when new billboard laws were enacted. The Federal Highway Administration must approve the DOT pilot project. If it does, DOT will ask billboard companies to remove billboards from prioritized scenic areas in return for being allowed to build a new one in less scenic areas with a stronger structure to withstand hurricanes or other events. A study done for DOT classified the scenic qualities along I-75 into five priority categories. Priority 1 and 2 billboards would be targeted for elimination. The study shows that Marion County has 135 non-conforming billboard structures along I-75 in priority 1 and 2 areas. Alachua County has 38. Structures can have single or multiple signs. Two of Alachua County's are in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park at the south end of the northbound lanes. "Paynes Prairie is one the areas that we targeted and definitely want to preserve," Garner said. "We are going to purchase those signs. Paynes Prairie is such a unique area that we felt it was important to make sure we don't have anything out there." The project is drawing interest from the billboard companies, said Rus Adams of Clear Channel Communication Inc.'s Ocala office. Clear Channel is a national leader in billboards and has many in the region. Adams said he believes DOT has a workable program that offers incentives to the billboard industry to make some changes. The main incentive is allowing stronger billboards. Also allowed will be "tri-vision" billboards with rotating signs. But Adams added the project hinges on cooperation from county and city governments along I-75 Scenic Things to Do The Sun-Centinel publishes monthly travel calendars of interesting things to do in Florida. Some of you sent your own calendars to be included. Time and space prevents researching every city so if you would make sure your local events are included in the Sun-Centinel calendars then the rest of the state will know about them. Here are links to the upcoming August events: North Florida & the Panhandle Travel Calendar for OctoberSouth Florida Travel Calendar for OctoberCentral Florida Travel Calendar for OctoberRail Trail project could start in '10 By HEATHER SCOFIELDStaff Writer DELAND -- Volusia County could begin construction early next year on a 5.7-mile segment of what will ultimately become a 50-mile scenic trail winding through parts of southeast Volusia and Brevard counties, officials said this week. The local trail segment work is all part of an ambitious project for which state officials acquired 51 miles of abandoned rail line. The $16 million, 465-acre purchase amounted to the longest rail line land purchase in Florida history. When complete, Volusia County's part of the Florida Rail Trail will cover roughly 40 miles of ground from Enterprise to Edgewater and accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities. The overall trail will also have an additional 10-mile leg through Brevard County to Titusville, officials said. County Councilwoman Pat Northey said the first Volusia segment of the Florida Rail Trail is nearing the end of the design phase, with the documents already enroute to officials in Tallahassee. In December, a state committee will likely approve the documents and the county's management plan . Then construction can begin on the first trail segment -- which will run from Providence Boulevard to State Road 415 in the Enterprise/Osteen area. County officials anticipate the segment will be ready for recreational use in 2011 and most of the $1.6 million projected cost associated with constructing the segment will be paid for with state grants. Return to HeadlinesFarmland Protection South Florida water managers pull plug on planned Everglades reservoir
WEST PALM BEACH — South Florida water managers Thursday agreed to pay another $12 million of taxpayers’ money to pull the plug on an unfinished Everglades restoration reservoir. That increases taxpayers’ total investment in the massive project in western Palm Beach County to almost $280 million. The South Florida Water Management District in June 2008 stopped construction on the 16,700-acre reservoir, just a few weeks before Gov. Charlie Crist and district officials announced plans to buy U.S. Sugar Corp. farmland to store water needed to replenish the Everglades. The district now contends that the location of the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, west of U.S. 27, doesn’t fit in with Everglades restoration plans being reconfigured by the proposed half-billion-dollar deal for 73,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land. The reservoir was intended to hold stormwater that would be directed to treatment areas that clean water headed to the Everglades. “We could have had this project done [in] 2011, 2012,” said district board member Michael Collins, who cast the only vote against terminating the construction contract. Collins has opposed the U.S. Sugar deal. “That should have been the priority.” The district in 2008 initially blamed a year-old legal challenge from the National Resources Defense Council environmental group for stopping construction on the reservoir. At that point, taxpayers had already paid about $250 million to start construction. National Resources Defense Council representatives at the time said they did not want construction stopped, but instead sought better safeguards in how the water would be divvied up. Other Scenic Views Wilton Rooks Scenic Watch Editor
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