BIG Expert's Billboard Report Released

In a Monday morning email, Haverford Township's Zoning Hearing Board solicitor sent Patch a light and visual expert's report on Bartkowski Investment Group's (BIG) billboards proposal.

Sent by Bill Malone, the report prepared by Dr. Ronald Gibbons, a director of the Center for Infrastructure Based Safety Systems at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and a lead lighting research scientist, was discussed in an Oct. 24 video testimony that was presented at the .

In his testimony and in his report, BIG expert Gibbons suggested that the proposed billboard (referred to as Sign 1 in the report) on 2040 West Chester Pike could be increased from 672 square feet to 1,200 square feet.

"It is my opinion, ... that the sign faces for the proposed Sign 1 should be increased to the next greater standard sign face which is 1,200 square feet," Gibbons stated in the 26-page report, which accompanies this article as a PDF document.

Gibbons noted in his report that the larger a billboard sign face is, the safer and quicker it is for a driver to read it. However, during cross-examination, an article written by Gibbons himself stated that any type of distractions was dangerous to drivers.

"Please note that these opinions are based on the current available information. I reserve the right to revise these conclusions if more or different information becomes available," Gibbons concluded in his Oct. 23, 2011 report.

During cross-examination, Gibbons admitted that he did not bring any kind of equipment to conduct measurements at the 2040 West Chester Pike sign location, nor did he ask the  what the traffic is like, or do any type of research of the area or consult with PennDOT studies.

In addition, Gibbons admitted that he did not take into account the time it takes for traffic lights to change, or the space between cars traveling or accident reports for Lancaster Avenue, where a proposed billboard will overlook Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township.

BIG is fighting to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township.