Sign Up LA, which bills itself as a "coalition of business groups, nonprofit organizations, community groups and sign companies" that supports the deployment of digital billboards in Los Angeles, released poll data that it said indicated that 62 percent of Angelenos support the city of Los Angeles adopting a new ordinance to regulate digital billboards.
Sign Up LA said the survey demonstrates the "strong public support for digital signs and the significant public safety benefits they provide" in L.A. The poll results, from 1,500 adults in the city, back the coalition's efforts to support a new digital signage policy in the city, similar to policies enacted by cities in 43 states and more than 450 localities across the country, the group said.
According to the survey, a significant majority of those surveyed (80 percent) think digital signs are good tools for communicating public safety messages. Two of three respondents said they would be concerned if digital signs were turned off; 27 percent of all respondents expressed they would be "very concerned." More than 60 percent of those surveyed support a proposal allowing for a number of digital signs in return for the removal of a number of traditional billboards, and generating revenue for the city while preserving public safety alerts. A plurality of residents, 48 percent, opposes turning off the city's existing digital billboards. A minority, 34 percent, supports turning off the signs.
The adults surveyed rated crime and jobs/city economy as their top two issues, according to Sign Up LA, which says that these are two important city issues that digital signs directly impact.
Digital signs generate economic benefits to businesses, including job creation and the sale of products and services to consumers, which in turn generate tax revenues for much-needed government services, the group said. And, digital signs are an important tool for law enforcement and other public safety agencies to rapidly reach large audiences with real-time information, it said.
In Southern California, the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Services have each turned to digital billboards to enhance efforts to protect public safety. For several of these agencies, digital signs are a significant component in their emergency communications strategies, the group said.
Sign Up LA recently commissioned the poll of 1,500 adults in the city of Los Angeles to better understand where the public stands on the issue of digital signs and the benefits they provide. The poll was conducted by the national polling firm Voter Roll Call and was done over the phone and online. The margin of error was no more than ±2.6 for any question.
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