Concerns over billboard policy
Two digital billboards now in the CBD
THERE are now two digital billboards lighting up one of the city’s biggest intersections the corner of Ruthven and Margaret Sts.
The first billboard was installed in 2016 by Bishopp Outdoor Advertising above the Lincraft building and another was installed by Paradise Outdoor Advertising above Gelatissimo on Monday night.
But a Toowoomba businessman has raised concerns about the possibility of billboards “littering every corner” of our city in the future.
Managing director of Australian Events Bob Carroll said he wanted to know about the Toowoomba Regional Council’s billboard policy to understand the approval process.
“We use billboards as a commercial tool but what confuses me is the council’s stance on digital billboards and if there is a policy in place about the content they run,” he said.
“If I was a business on that corner and a rival business decided to run an advertisement on one of those boards, I wouldn’t say that’s fair and I wonder where they draw the line.
“I’m sure others are wondering the same thing. I’m also hoping they aren’t going to soon appear on other corners or buildings in town.”
Councillor Chris Tait said the sign was code assessable and was assessed against the Advertising Devices Code of Council’s Planning Scheme.
“The sign had to comply with the performance criteria of the code which relates to the aesthetic impact of the sign and the safety and function of the sign,” he said.
“In particular, it was important to assess if the sign would have any impact on traffic safety, given the proximity of the sign to the traffic signals.
“The development application included a traffic impact assessment to demonstrate that it would not impact on the safety of the road users.
“The approval includes conditions which regulate the operation of the sign and ensure that the display features and physical properties of the advertisements will not cause driver distraction and do not cause a general nuisance.
“These controls relate to the brightness, contrast and colours of the display and the frequency that the messages change.”