CSS National Dialogue Webcast Event February 4th

The CSS National Dialog will hold its next workshop on February 4th in Charlotte, and registration for a free webcast is available at www.cssnationaldialog.org.

The workshop will include an up-to-date overview of Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) plus presentations on exemplary CSS projects with case studies selected from over 90 submissions from across the country.

Blue Ridge Parkway Turns 75!

(WPA reproduction via Ranger Doug Enterprises)

2010 marks the 75th Anniversary of one of America's most scenic drives. Visit www.blueridgeparkway75.org for more information on how to celebrate this jewel of the National Park System!

NYC Officals Order Removal of Celebrity Gym Supergraphics

photo via Curbed

After being bombarded with complaints from Greenich Village residents of giant supergraphic signs on a gym located in a preservation district, New York City officials have ordered the removal of the illegal signs. Stiff fines will begin today if the ads are not removed. The New York Post has more.

Update: The owners complied with the deadline and the signs have been removed to the delight of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Is Your Community Ready for America in Bloom?

The more than 200 communities from across the country that have participated in the America in Bloom contest can attest to the benefits of this wonderful, friendly competition that encourages community involvement in the beautification of their communities.

If you look around your community and are proud of where you live, it just may be ready to share its beauty through America in Bloom! The deadline for the 2010 competition is February 28th. In addition, the 2010 AIB Symposium will be held in Saint Louis September 28 - October 2nd. To find out more about the competition, symposium and resources of America in Bloom, visit its website today!

Is there a "Green" Civil War?

USGS photo: Wind energy project on BLM land in California

While the headline of "Green Civil War: Projects vs. Preservation" goes overboard, the "Room for Debate" online column in the New York Times is well worth reading as it provides a number of thoughtful comments by leading environmentalists on the tension that sometimes arises between preserving wide open spaces and using public lands for renewable energy projects.

Clear Channel Clears Out

Scenic Saint Paul passes along this video of the removal of a rooftop billboard. Kudos to the property owner for saying no to a new billboard lease!

Meanwhile, here is news story (with video) from Rock Hill, S.C. on a major street enhancement project that included a requirement that businesses replace large signs with a more appropriate 50 square foot limit.

Garbage in, garbage out

photo: Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight

Previous posts have decried the environmental damage the billboard industry inflicts upon clean air and the night sky. But billboards are also literally trash on a stick. It is estimated that every year, over 3 million billboard ads get trashed in America's landfills, generating over 10,000 tons of non bio-degradable vinyl.

While most of us wouldn't think of tossing out trash from our car windows, we really don't consider the environmental costs of billboards. These ads may have a "useful" life of a few months to get you to switch your wireless service or buy a supersized soft drink, but the vinyl is an environmental problem lasting virtually forever. Advertisers should give our landfills a break and use less environmentally damaging forms of communication than litter on a stick.

Billboard Industry Offends Working Mothers

The billboard industry executed a massive failure in London with an ad campaign attempting to prove how effective billboards are; instead, they simply offended working mothers with the message "Career women make bad mothers." Shame on these giant corporations, including U.S. based Clear Channel and CBS, for deliberately pushing this nonsense.

Park Ridge Mayor Stands Against Billboards

Billboard proponents are trying to sway city officials in Park Ridge, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, with an offer of a payment of impact and licensing fees in exchange for the right to erect four 80 foot signs along I-294. The fees could generate in excess of $500,000 over twenty years.

But the mayor is spot on that limited financial benefits that can be gained from allowing billboards is not worth the price of diminished community character. The mayor noted that Planning and Zoning voted unanimously against the proposal, and that the fees would do little for the city over the long run. Of course, as the legal wrangling in Los Angeles instructs, Park Ridge likely would be sued by other billboard companies trying to get in on the action if the proposal were approved.

LA billboard blight awards

The Los Angeles Times today continues its coverage of the billboard litigation in LA, this time with a focus on arguments that the city made unfair deals with certain billboard companies at the expense of others.

Meanwhile, LA-based Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight hands out the First Annual Ban Billboard Blight Awards.