PennDOT Now Controls Outdoor Advertising Along Key Corridor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - PennDOT has pulled the plug on the city's control over billboard advertising on the Market Street East Corridor.
But don't look for the big digital display at 8th and Market Streets to disappear anytime soon.
Acting on orders from the Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT's Gene Blaum says the state on Thursday lifted the last vestige of city control over advertising along the corridor.
Officials directed PennDOT to get involved when the city failed to respond to the federal agency's communications.
As to the large digital billboard on a building at 8th and Market last year, Blaum says that can stay for now, but…
"The owners of the existing non-accessory advertising devices within the Market Street East Advertising District need to apply to PennDOT for an advertising device permit under state law. The final determination on those signs will be made by PennDOT."
Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Mayor Jim Kenney's office, blamed the billboard intervention on a breakdown in communications within city offices. He says the city is now reaching out to officials in Washington and Harrisburg to resolve their concerns.
