by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It’s an issue that’s been stagnating on City Council committee agendas since June 2005 without much – if any – progress, but if events of the past week are any indication, that could change.
At last week’s Downtown Development Review Board meeting, JTA representatives made a presentation concerning the proposal to increase the number of shelters at bus stops by allowing advertising on the shelters. Tuesday afternoon, City Council member Warren Jones held a meeting with some of his fellow Council members, the JTA’s general counsel and opponents of the advertising-based plan.
Jones said he chose to enter the fray because, “My interest is to try to find a solution to a problem a number of my constituents are dealing with” – specifically bus stops that offer riders no protection from the elements while they wait for their public transportation to arrive.
The problem is the vast majority of the JTA’s 6,500 bus stops amount to no more than a small sign bolted to a pole in the ground by the side of the road. The solution is bus shelters, but who’s going to pay to install and maintain them has become an almost three-year debate. The JTA would prefer to use private-sector funding, but the only source mentioned in the legislation filed in 2005 has been a waiver in the City’s sign ordinance that could lead to a battle in federal court and put the existing law in jeopardy.
Attorney Bill Brinton opposes the proposed legislation and said he has represented many municipalities that have gone to court over bus shelter advertising.
“The City of Los Angeles had its entire sign ordinance struck down over a similar issue,” said Brinton. “I’ve seen the ways the First Amendment has been used to go after local governments and I don’t want to see Jacksonville attacked.
“If there’s a way to get more bus shelters without changing the sign ordinance, we need to do it,” he added.
Council member Michael Corrigan pointed out that the legislation is based exclusively on JTA’s request for a waiver to allow advertising on the shelters and doesn’t address the possibility of other alternatives. He is also concerned that if a marketing company is involved, the locations chosen for new shelters will be based on advertising value rather than how to best serve riders.
Brinton said he believes what he called an “adopt-a-shelter” program modeled after the existing “adopt-a-road” program might be an alternative to conspicuous advertising on the county’s rights-of-way. The cost of installing a bus shelter (estimated between $4,000 and $5,000) and the ongoing maintenance (about $1,000 a year) could be borne by a corporate sponsor. In exchange, the sponsor would receive “minimal signage inside the shelter in recognition of their sponsorship,” said Brinton, who added the sponsor could also be recognized at events like the annual JaxPride luncheon.
Corrigan said he likes the buses that have recently been added to the JTA’s fleet because, unlike the older buses, they don’t have any advertising on them. He said the absence of advertising “looks like a professional bus system” and the same image should apply to new shelters.
“I think it would be a step backward to go with advertising on the shelters. I’m confident we can find an advertising-free solution.” said Corrigan. “I think we can use the power of the Council and the LUZ (Land Use and Zoning) Committee to motivate developers to provide shelters.”
An example, he said, would be to require developers seeking waivers to reduce the required number of parking spaces for a commercial project to cover the costs of a bus shelter in exchange for the waiver.
Miller said developers have been eager to cooperate with mass transit enhancements and cited St. Johns Town Center as an example of a transit-friendly design.
Council member Jack Webb said his constituents in Mandarin have made it clear they are concerned about the aesthetics of bus shelters and they do not support any changes to the current sign ordinance. He believes in view of possible litigation that would likely arise from granting the proposed waiver, “The end game is to develop a private sponsorship program (to provide more bus shelters) so that this advertising proposal can be locked away forever.”
Photo by Max Marbut