PennDOT Now Has Task Of Regulating Billboards Along Philadelphia Highways
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- PennDOT now has jurisdiction over billboards along federal and state highways in Philadelphia.
The Federal Highway Administration has handed the job of regulating billboards and issuing permits over to PennDOT. Philadelphia had been handling that duty since 1974, but not very well according to Mary Tracy, Executive Director of the advocacy group Scenic Philadelphia.
"I think this battle over billboards has gone on far too long in the city. The pressures on our politicians and on the enforcement agencies have been overbearing for decades," said Tracy.
Tracy believes PennDOT will be removing many billboards in the weeks and months ahead.
"Because our research has shown that many of these signs never bothered to get permits and for those signs that are unpermitted they will have to come down if they are in a place that is in violation of the code," said Tracy.
PennDOT is expected to have a complete inventory of highway signs by next July.
