(Maine) Billboard Ban: A law for sore eyes (30 year anniversery)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=123918&ac=PHnws

There was a time in Maine, not so long ago, when motorists on the state's highways would be greeted by billboards for motels, insurance brokers, car dealerships, cigarettes and more. Such scenes are a memory now, thanks to a billboard ban that was signed into law 30 years ago this month.

The absence of the billboards, which are so common in other states, is widely accepted by Mainers today. Fans of the ban say the results -- natural landscapes uncluttered by the roadside obstructions -- are priceless.

"It's become part of our quality of place," said Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Connors was the state transportation commissioner when the last sign acquired by the state -- a double-sided billboard advertising Holiday Inns in Portland and the Shawmut Motor Inn in Kennebunkport -- was toppled on Route 1 in Arundel.

Maine, Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska are the only four states that ban billboards. It's unlikely that other states will follow suit, said Kevin Fry, president of Scenic America, a national anti-billboard group.

<more>

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Billboards can be a real distraction

There is a lot of beautiful scenery between Branson MO and Springfield MO, but you don't notice it because of all the billboards for the Branson shows and Springfield businesses. And it is really tacky when they tear up and are weathered away.

[MADem]

2. It makes the drive to Canada quite nice, I must say.... NT