Outdoor Advertising Control Practices in Australia, Europe, and Japan

Although the Highway Beautification Act (HBA) has been credited with reducing the number of nonconforming signs and removing illegal signs throughout the country, the law is controversial and costly to administer. Many have questioned whether it has controlled outdoor advertising or met the intent of the U.S. Congress. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to learn how they regulate outdoor advertising both inside and outside the roadway right-of-way. The scan team also conducted a desk scan of outdoor advertising practices in Japan. In its study, the scan team observed the following: (1) context-sensitive and safety-oriented laws and regulations, (2) no regulation of nonconforming signs or distinction between on-premise and off-premise signs, (3) emphasis on safety and environmental impacts in guidelines and permit requirements, and (4) more collaboration between outdoor advertising stakeholders than in the United States. The scan team assembled implementation ideas under the following improvement goals: streamlining the program, improving efficiency, improving transparency, adopting a context-sensitive approach, and enhancing safety.

• Record URL:
  http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo20548/pl11023.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/1013
• Corporate Authors:

  American Trade Initiatives

  P.O. Box 8228
  Alexandria, VA  United States  22306-8228

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of International Programs, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Daluge, Mary Jane
  • DeLong, Matthew
  • Hanig, Laurie
  • Kalla, Hari
  • Klauer, Charlie
  • Klein, Kenneth
  • Klekar, Susan
  • McMillan, Lyle
  • Quiroga, Cesar
  • Soule, Jeffrey
  • Tracy, Mary
  • Wessinger, Barbara
• Publication Date: 2011-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 92p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Context sensitive design; Cooperation; Environmental impacts; Highway safety; Laws; Regulations; Roadside advertising; Stakeholders; Study tours
• Identifier Terms: FHWA International Scanning Program; Highway Beautification Act of 1965
• Geographic Terms: Australia; Japan; Netherlands; Sweden; United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01350105
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PL-10-031
• Contract Numbers: DTFH61-99-C-005
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 18 2011 4:07PM