Digital Billboard Expected in Quakertown

The Quakertown area is currently expecting a fourth digital billboard to appear in the town. The Adams Outdoor Advertising Company is simply waiting on the OK from Springfield Officials before placing up the digital billboard. If they receive the OK to go ahead with the digital billboard, it will be replacing an old billboard that has been around for nearly 50 years and is located on Route 309 and Clay Avenue. If the digital billboard receives approval, it will actually be the first digital billboard in the Springfield area. There are already three other digital billboards near the area, along Route 309. Those billboards are located in Coopersburg, Quakertown, and Richland.

Representatives for Adams Outdoor Advertising spoke to the supervisors of Springfield during a meeting which took place on Tuesday. They are looking to make a deal that can be made outside of court. During 2006, the Springfield zoning officer refused the request of the company when asking to place a digital billboard on Route 309. The reason for the refusal was because the township bans certain signs, signs that apparently have, “intermittent illumination.” After the refusal, Adams Outdoor Advertising took the case to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas and the case is currently pending.

Adams Outdoor Advertising is challenging the ban that the township has made against digital signs; especially since both federal and state regulation allow digital billboards to be used. Not to mention, that specific area in Springfield on Route 309 is a perfect commercial area. The advertising company is also accusing the zoning hearing board of certain violations, including violating the Sunshine Act. The Sunshine Act requires the government board to get together and discuss these matters with the public. Representatives for the company have asked Springfield to simply reconsider their refusal and if they do, the company will drop the court appeal as long as a settlement between the two is reached.

Lois Arciszewski, the vice president of real estate for the advertising company, has said, “We still believe it’s a valid, viable location for an LED billboard.” She also notes that digital billboards in their entirety are quite rare. The company itself own nearly 1,000 different billboards in regions of Philly and Lehigh, but only 16 of those particular billboards are electronic. Arciszewski says that only a small 1 percent of those billboards are electronic. She also believes that Route 309 is an ideal location for a digital billboard because it is a high traffic area.

Arciszewski also says that the digital billboards are convenient because they can post emergency weather, along with Amber alerts right away. She believes that most people appreciate knowing about weather and Amber alerts immediately instead of having to wait. This is just another bonus of the digital billboards.