The Pacific Palisades Community Council voted 16-2 with one abstention last Thursday to oppose Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s bill authorizing the City of Santa Monica to display digital advertising on the sides of its buses. ‘I don’t see how the signs can be anything but a distraction to drivers,’ Council member Jack Allen said, noting that Santa Monica’s buses travel through Pacific Palisades and that the Council has fought against commercial signage in town. ‘It is really not in our interest from an aesthetic standpoint to have flashing advertising on these buses.’ Brownley, who attended the meeting, explained that Santa Monica city officials asked her to author Assembly Bill 607 because they wanted to create more revenue for their public transit system. If passed, the bill would allow only the City of Santa Monica to have digital advertising on its buses as part of a pilot program until 2017. Existing state law prohibits such commercial advertising on buses, so the bill amends Section 375 of the vehicle code and changes Section 25353.1 of the code. ‘Transit funds have been cut and cut,’ Brownley said, explaining that the only other choices are increasing fees or cutting routes. The buses already have stationary advertising, and Santa Monica officials estimate that they can make between $4 million and $16 million annually by switching to easily changeable digital signs, Brownley said. ‘At this point in time, there has not been any opposition to the bill,’ Brownley said. ‘It flew through the Assembly; it flew through the Senate.’ Since the Senate made minor amendments to the bill, it was returned to the Assembly. Once approved, it will be sent to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature. The Santa Monica City Council will then have to vote on the matter, Brownley said. ‘Santa Monica officials said this was an area that they wanted to explore, but they said that the first step was to see if they could get the legislation to do it; they have not made any final decisions,’ Brownley said. The Pacific Palisades Community Council is asking that if the Assembly approves the final bill, Brown should veto it. Since the buses will travel through L.A., Brownley’s staff and Santa Monica city officials are meeting with L.A. city officials to discuss signing a potential memorandum of understanding, Brownley said. She explained that, according to the bill, Santa Monica will be allowed to have a digital advertising display, which cannot exceed 4,464 sq.in. (about 32 sq. ft.), on 25 of its 200 buses during the first two years. Thereafter, the city can have digital advertising on 30 of its buses. Santa Monica will be required to submit a safety report to the Legislature and the Department of the California Highway Patrol by July 1, 2016 explaining any adverse impacts. Brownley assured the Council that the advertisements would not switch while the buses are traveling on the freeway. If Santa Monica wants to continue the program past 2017 or if other cities want to pursue such an option, both state houses would have to pass another bill and the governor would have to sign it, Brownley noted. She added that the cities of Chicago and New York use digital advertising on their buses, and ‘they have investigated and monitored this and came up with no real safety issues both for folks who are driving and pedestrians.’ In response, Council member Chris Spitz said, ‘This isn’t Chicago or New York; those are major urban centers with vastly different landscapes. This is the Palisades, and we don’t want a slippery slope.’ Brownley encouraged the Community Council to meet with the Santa Monica City Council. On behalf of the Community Council, chair Janet Turner sent a letter opposing the bill to Assembly members last Friday.
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