Blight control: Taking aim at Pittsburgh's billboard landscape
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Pittsburgh's newest watchdog is the 3-week-old Scenic Pittsburgh, a project of the Pennsylvania Resources Council whose task is guarding the city's views and vistas.
More well-known than the organization is its executive director, Mike Dawida, a former state senator and county commissioner who is eager to curb a proliferation of electronic billboards in the city.
Although Scenic Pittsburgh is a chapter of Scenic America, a national nonprofit that wants communities to ban new billboards, formation of the local organization should not be considered a declaration of war against outdoor advertising. Scenic Pittsburgh has more realistic goals than an outright ban.
The organization wants policies that regulate the size and intensity particularly of electronic billboards. The group doesn't want the messages on billboards to cycle very quickly because they can distract drivers. In addition, Scenic Pittsburgh doesn't want billboards to be lit up at night or visible from the city's three rivers.
The organization's initial attention will be on the city of Pittsburgh, where zoning officials are in the process of rewriting the rules on billboards, regulations that were prepared decades ago when no one could have imagined the possibility of electronic billboards. Scenic Pittsburgh sees its role as representing the interests of residents in negotiations among governmental entities and business interests.
Given its goals, the organization has made a smart choice in selecting Mr. Dawida to lead its efforts. Because of his background as a lawmaker and his current role as a teacher at California University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Dawida -- a Carrick native who still lives in the neighborhood, across the street from three vinyl billboards -- should be well-prepared for the educating and arm-twisting that will be necessary if Scenic Pittsburgh is to succeed.
A practical approach can aid the region by keeping blight at bay.
First Published November 17, 2010 12:00 am
