Sign down, move on
High time to end spat between city and Lamar
Pittsburghers are not winning with Sprint’s giant yellow billboard on the face of Mount Washington. The Zoning Board of Adjustment has ordered the sign be taken down, and down it should come. The city has given Lamar Advertising a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday.
Lamar and the city should move beyond this squabble and decide once and for all the fate of the city’s premier advertising space.
The vinyl billboard includes Sprint’s name and the message, “Pittsburgh WINS with Black & Yellow.” It’s ugly, and the fight over it is merely a skirmish in a years-long war between a savvy billboard company and a city that’s been unable to impose its will on the same.
Lamar erected the vinyl billboard last summer over the dilapidated electric sign that over the years promoted Bayer Co., Alcoa and Iron City and gave the time, temperature and community information. It’s the best-known advertising space around and occupies one of the highest-profile locations in the city. However, Lamar, which owns the electric sign, has been feuding with city officials for years over its rehabilitation and future use.
In 2015, Mayor Bill Peduto objected to Lamar’s plans to rent the electric sign to Giant Eagle, saying he didn’t want the latest price of chipped ham flashing above Point State Park. But he found it easier to kill Giant Eagle’s advertising than Sprint’s billboard.
Last summer, the city law department sent Lamar and Sprint notices demanding the billboard’s removal, alleging violations of city code and threatening to impose “maximum penalties.” Lamar appealed to the zoning board, which ruled against the company Feb. 16. Now, the city is vowing to take “immediate steps” to force the sign’s removal, and Lamar says only that it’s considering its options.
Last year, we called for Lamar and the city to settle their differences. We do so again. The Sprint billboard should come down so the parties can concentrate on the diamond in the rough underneath. The electric sign has been dark for far too long. Rehabilitated and properly used, it could be a beacon for the new Pittsburgh. That’s the only option Lamar and the city should be exploring now.