Time Square Signage Requirements

[Texas_Signmaker]

Pretty neat, had no idea they require a certain amount of sign per SF of frontage.

 

[Bobby H]

In many respects, the modern LED displays being installed in locations like Times Square utterly blow away the ones depicted in the movie Bladerunner. OTOH, we don't have flying cars and murderous replicants. Still, I kind of miss how Times Square looked in the late 1980's. The signs features a LOT of neon.

FYI: the actual Times Square part of Times Square wasn't all that bad in the mid to late 1980's -contrary to what the YouTube video claims. There were a couple of adult theaters along the way, but most of the cinemas in Times Square showed regular Hollywood movies. Some of the shots of porno houses in the YouTube video were really located down on 42nd Street or a block over West to 8th Avenue. Most of the so-called "clean up" that has taken place throughout that area and across the rest of Manhattan has occurred incidentally via gentrification.

 

[tulsagraphics]

I haven't watched the video yet, but the first thing that came to mind was our city's "200sq.ft." max. In Times Square, I'm thinking "oh, we don't have max sq.ft, but we DO have a minimum of 2,000sq.ft. per sign) lol

 

[Skooter]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that. Kind of the opposite of what we always run up against when it comes to permitting.

 

[Bobby H]

A good number of cities won't allow LED variable message displays at all. Here in Oklahoma I'm pretty sure the city of Edmond still has a ban on them.

 

[ProSignTN]

We have a 6 second static rule, no moving video

 

[tulsagraphics]

A good number of cities won't allow LED variable message displays at all. Here in Oklahoma I'm pretty sure the city of Edmond still has a ban on them.

I think ODOT has a big say in it too. I haven't researched it much, but from what I understand -- with the exception of county / state highway billboards (which require ODOT permit) -- an LED board can only advertise for the business where it's installed (aka no renting out ad space).

 

[Bobby H]

Most cities and towns don't allow LED boards that aren't a dedicated billboard to be used for off premise advertising. This is a thing that constantly comes up from people interested in buying LED boards to install on street signs -"we can make a bunch of money selling ad time and let that pay for the LED board!" Uh, not really. Billboards, whether they're next to the highway or installed along a city street, require their own permits. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure LED billboards in Oklahoma have a state-wide standard of static ads with a minimum 8 second hold time. A huge casino sign can show full motion video on a giant LED board, but it's an on-premise sign.