Council considers plan for sidewalk kiosks
Some officials tout revenue benefits, while others blast move as clutter
City Council on Wednesday will consider a plan to install up to 125 interactive digital kiosks around the city, a proposal that has drawn support from city officials who tout the advertising revenue benefits and opposition from some who equate the kiosks to sidewalk billboards.
If approved by council, the city would have Ohiobased IKE Smart City LLC install at least 75 kiosks within the next three years, focusing on commercial areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. The kiosks, which are designed to resemble massive smartphones, would display dining, transit, event and lodging options and provide free Wi-Fi and 911 access, among other features.
The city would receive 42 percent of the revenue generated from digital advertisements displayed on the kiosks, providing an estimated $35 to $50 million over the course of the 12year contract, according to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. Under the agreement, IKE Smart City would guarantee a minimum payment to the city of $11 to $16 million over the 12 years, depending on the number of kiosks installed.
City officials would have the option to extend the contract for another 10 years, in two five-year increments, if IKE Smart City
meets certain performance goals. The company would pay for installation of the kiosks without using any public dollars.
Opponents of the kiosk proposal include Scenic Houston, a nonprofit that helped push for the city’s 1980 sign code that bans any new billboards. In a letter sent Friday to Andy Icken, the city’s chief development officer, Scenic Houston Executive Director Heather Houston said the board “strongly feels that the digital kiosks constitute digital billboards with a primary purpose to advertise.”
Icken disagreed, arguing Houstonians and tourists would find the kiosks helpful in navigating the city.
“I just don't think of this as a digital billboard,” Icken said. “I believe they are interactive display screens, much like your iPhone, that allow people to get information.”
The kiosks also would display local job listings, arts and culture options, such as museums and theaters, a list of government buildings and services in the city, and a list of homeless shelters. Advertisements could not include racially derogatory, political or sexually explicit content, nor any ads for tobacco products.
Cooke Kelsey, chair of Scenic Houston’s advocacy committee, said the group also is concerned that business owners would lack the ability to prevent kiosks from being placed on sidewalks in front of their establishments.
Additionally, Kelsey argued the kiosks would defy the purpose of the city’s sidewalk right-of-way, which he said generally is supposed to be used for traffic-related street signage, such as stop signs.
“That's what a right-ofway or easement is, an understanding that they use it for those types of purposes,” Kelsey said. “So, putting an 800-pound smartphone in front of your front door, even if it's a map, that's stretching it. If they're starting to broadcast messages that have nothing to do with traffic, you've gone way outside of that.”
District J Councilmember Edward Pollard said he views the kiosks as a potential boon to business owners and believes the city generally should choose locations where businesses view them as a benefit.
Pollard said he has supported the kiosk idea since meeting with IKE Smart City representatives last year during a conference for the National League of Cities advocacy group in Washington, D.C. He said he informed Mayor Sylvester Turner of the concept after hearing the the company’s pitch.
“This is the new way,” Pollard said. “This is creativity, innovation and immediate access right at people's fingertips.”
Icken said businesses would have a chance to weigh in on kiosk placement through a provision of the contract that, if approved, would require officials to consult with the district council member about where to locate the kiosks. City officials also would have to meet with the local management district, which Icken said will provide another avenue for business input.
Before approving the kiosk contract, council first must establish a definition for “interactive wayfinding kiosks” under the section of Houston’s code of ordinances that governs streets and sidewalks, then allow the kiosks to be placed in the city’s right-of-way.
At-Large Councilmember Sallie Alcorn said she plans to oppose the change to city code, along with the IKE Smart City contract, because the kiosks will add clutter to city streets.
“These kiosks will be placed in the pedestrian realm, and I don't feel sidewalks are the best place for digital advertisements,” Alcorn said. “There's been a concerted effort for many years to make Houston a more attractive city. I believe these kiosks run counter to that effort.”
Kelsey said he worries the ordinance tweak would open the door to more expansive digital advertising in the city. He pointed to a request for proposals issued by the city in March 2020 seeking companies to install digital billboards within city limits.
“Houston has worked very hard to improve the visual appearance and the environmental aspect of our city,” Kelsey said. “If they pass the first ordinance, it will open up an illdefined exception for this type of so-called wayfinding device.”
In the request for proposals, city officials estimated the billboard contract would come before council in April 2021 and begin in May, though council has yet to consider the item. The document states that vendors would be required to “remove, at a minimum, three static (or existing) billboard structures” for each one they build.
IKE Smart City has installed kiosks in at least eight cities, including Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver and San Antonio. A few dozen kiosks are spread around the Alamo City downtown, in transit centers and at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Some cities have turned down similar proposals, including Seattle, which nixed a plan to install kiosks throughout downtown even after selecting a vendor. Critics of the plan had raised concerns about privacy and the way kiosk users’ data would be used.