We're glad to see that City Council gave initial approval Wednesday to a moratorium on new billboards. But a 3-0 vote, with four abstentions, is no robust sign that the timeout, aimed at the upswing in electronic boards, will succeed on a final vote.

Pittsburgh is not alone in grappling with the bright, ever-changing signs. Technology has redefined the advertising landscape and local governments around the country are taking a look at how to properly regulate the beaming messages as to size, location, density and other factors.

City Solicitor George Specter sought a private meeting with council members to discuss the issue, but lawmakers wisely nixed the idea. Then Councilman Jim Motznik invited colleagues to a private meeting with the solicitor on Monday in his office. If the public interest is to be served, such a meeting would be held in public.

No one is saying the city's moratorium should be permanent, but two recent developments call for close study on how to permit and place electronic billboards throughout Pittsburgh. One is the deal, which got no public scrutiny by city boards or council, to allow Lamar Advertising to erect a 1,200-square-foot digital board at Grant Street and Liberty Avenue. The other is the flood of at least 65 applications from outdoor ad agencies, filed after council's moratorium threat, for new or modernized billboards.

The latest technology invites a brave new world of roadside advertising. For a city that takes pride in its good looks, Pittsburgh needs to proceed carefully.