As the City of Regina reviews its out-of-date zoning bylaw, it will seek to answer the question many other municipalities across the country have asked: are digital billboards distracting?
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Digital billboards – large, electronic screens programmed to rotate through various advertisements – are all the rage in Regina.
For Canadian Digital Network, which operates 54 “faces” in the city, the screens open tremendous opportunities for businesses that are not possible with traditional billboards.
“We can tie in advertising to 77 different weather conditions. We can day-part ads so you can run a different ad morning, noon and night,” Ryan Howard, vice-president of business development, said.
Since 2009, digital billboard technology has advanced rapidly. Sign owners can even instantly upload social media posts to their network in order to advertise user-generated content.
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But some drivers in the city complain the signs are too bright and can be a distraction, especially at night.
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Ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens did not expect to hear the complaint when door knocking last election campaign, but when it was drawn to his attention, he looked to see what regulations were in place for the eye-catching screens.
Turns out, there are no regulations.
Introduced in 1992, the city’s zoning bylaw covers the “animation and illumination” of signs, but makes no mention of digital billboards.
“People are distracted. It’s essentially a big screen TV. If we ban cell phones, why is it we can actually have digital entertainment beaming into our cars along the way?” Stevens asked.
Stevens is in the process of collecting opinions and input from Regina residents on the digital billboards to go toward a review currently underway.
Fred Searle, Regina’s manager of current planning in the development services department, said a comprehensive study is already ongoing to update the zoning bylaw, which would include billboard regulations.
Searle added there is no timeline on when the sign standard part of the far-reaching zoning bylaw review would be addressed, suggesting it could be a multi-year process.
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“While that process is underway, we may look at some interim regulations that would help us better regulate signage,” he added.
Those regulations could include how bright a billboard can be and how the screen transitions from one ad to another.
As it stands right now — digital billboard companies and the city work together to handle complaints. However, it is ultimately up to the sign owners to adjust the brightness on billboards.
The city said it maintains a good relationship with sign owners and plan to consult with them as the review progresses.
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