Current Issues
Check out the bus shelter news page for the latest on JTA, bus shelter advertising, and potential ethical dilemmas!
Social Justice - Not in Jacksonville
Here Jacksonville citizens address the two Jacksonvilles: the first comprised of privileged areas (like Ortega, described by Barbara Ketchum) that will not be subjected to advertising on bus shelters directed to passing motorists, and the second made up areas (like Myrtle Avenue, represented by Celia Miller and Levoyus Partlow, and Murray Hill, represented by John Allmand) that may lack the political clout to avoid the unwanted ad assault. Hear and see Tracey Arpen and Diane Melendez speaking.
Ad Assault: It is shocking
that JTA plans to line our roadways with 1500 commercial ads on transit shelters oriented to Jacksonville motorists. Even a billboard industry expert (see below) has noted the driver distraction caused by these roadside ads. This totally unnecessary action, if approved by the JTA Board of Directors, will uglify Jacksonville's roadways with advertisements like these:
There are ample resources, including funding, available to build a handicapped-accessible shelter for every location that meets its criteria. For some reason, though, JTA has failed to provide the needed shelters. Tell JTA what you think. Coming soon: a report on JTA's $3,000,000.00 savings in the last fiscal year!
The real low-down on shelter maintenance
Take a look at this JTA purchase order detailing pricing for shelter maintenance, trash pickup and mowing. Group I lists trash pickup prices of $13 per trashcan emptied. [Note: This is not shelter maintenance.] Group II (Actual Shelter Maintenance) lists quarterly maintenance costs of $17 for 5' X 9' shelters ($68 annually), $30 for 5' X 16' shelters ($120 annually), and $30 for 5' X 7" shelters ($120 annually). For maintenance of specialty shelters, the listed price is $100 per quarter, or $400 annually; for design build maintenance, the listed price is $50 per quarter, or $200 annually. The price of mowing grass at a bus stop site is listed as a whopping $3 per hour per site. [Note: This is not shelter maintenance.]
Consider the above-listed prices in conjunction with this JTA Bid (No. 05-033) providing the estimated numbers for shelter maintenance. [See page 4.] Of the different types of shelters, this bid estimates 300 5' X 9' shelters (for an annual maintenance cost of $20,400), 50 5' X 16' shelters (for an annual maintenance cost of $6,000), 1 5' X 7' shelter (for an annual maintenance cost of $120), 10 specialty shelters (for an annual maintenance cost of $4,000) and 20 design build shelters (for an annual maintenance cost of $4,000). According to this JTA document, the estimated total annual maintenance costs (excluding separate trash pickup and mowing costs) for the JTA shelters already in place is $34,520!
Check out what Clear Channel's expert had to say about bus shelter advertising
This expert report, filed by Clear Channel Outdoor in an Arizona court, discusses the dangers inherent to bus shelter advertising. Exhibit one is a CV. Here are exhibits two, three and four. This report led one Pima County Judge to conclude that "street furniture ads are equally or more distracting to drivers than billboards." Here is an almost identical report, by the same expert, filed in Clear Channel's litigation with the City of New York.
Why is there a dead tree stump in this City planter along Hogan Street?
Shouldn't it contain a tree? To report dead and/or missing trees on City property in your area, contact 630-CITY, or click here.
San Francisco Votes to Limit Advertising on Bus Shelters! November 4, 2009.
Proposition E, a bill prohibiting an increase in the number of advertising signs on street furniture (i.e. bus shelters) throughout the City, passed by a landslide 57% of the vote. The bill also prohibits new advertising signs on ALL buildings within the City, even those owned by the City.
How many bus stops is this?
Well, if you're counting using the JTA's method, it could be as many as seventeen. Does that mean that the shelter behind this sign is really seventeen shelters?
Scenic Jacksonville was formed to protect and promote the scenic beauty of Jacksonville, Florida by educating the public regarding visual pollution (such as litter, overhead wires, and sign proliferation, all of which and more can be addressed through beautification projects) and encouraging the adoption of meaningful policies for signs and outdoor advertising.
