August 3, 2009
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Don't get Mary Tracy started about those newfangled electronic billboards cropping up on the nation's highways - that is, unless you have the time to talk.
The antibillboard activist and founder of Philadelphia-based SCRUB - which bills itself as "the Public Voice for Public Space" - sees the flashing billboards as a bane to distracted drivers and the environment.
With changing messages flashed on these signs every few seconds, motorists have been known to slow while waiting for the next image. That's a life-threatening risk at interstate highway speeds, notes Tracy.
Then there's the obvious drain and cost of the electricity used to power these signs 24/7. Tracy says it would require planting 4,000 trees to offset the carbon footprint of these signs, in addition to the added cost of operating them.
What's the likelihood that the views of this local advocate will affect the national debate on electronic billboards? Well, it just got a bit better last week - with the announcement that Tracy has been named to run Scenic America, in Washington.
The national organization seeks to protect the nation's highways from blight of all types, from signs to cell towers to wind turbines. The group lays claim to preventing "thousands of billboards from blighting our highways."
Eric Elliff, chairman of Scenic America's board of directors, said Tracy's "extensive background in grassroots organizing and nonprofit management" gave her an edge in landing the job.
Good news for Philadelphia: Tracy will keep a hand in SCRUB, dividing her time between the two organizations.
The fight against billboard blight here hasn't been easy, given an industry that flouted sign regulations and dodged paying license fees. Although the city has put strict billboard limits into law, the political will to enforce the rules is often lacking. There are fewer illegal signs around today, but too many inner-city neighborhoods remain blighted by too many billboards.
With a track record of victories in fighting illegal signs as well as setbacks, SCRUB has fought the good fight. So Scenic America's anti-blight efforts should benefit from Tracy's neighborhood-honed skills as an advocate.