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Mobile Billboards Driven Out of L.A. Thanks to New Law
A mobile billboard on Fulton Avenue in Sherman Oaks (Zach Behrens/LAist)
Following the turn of the calendar page to January 1, 2011, one of the new state laws to go into effect sees to it that local governments have the authority to have mobile billboards driven off the streets, and, locally, the focus is on the blighted San Fernando Valley, where those parked and hitched ads are the scourge of many a block.
The campaign to oust the offending ad hoc advertising spaces has been long fought, with some local City Council members advocating tireless on behalf of the cause. In October, Councilman Dennis Zine said he and a special task force set to go to work as the New Year began "will eradicate this from the city." That they did: "In West Hills, a tow truck hauled away a detached trailer that had a gold jewelry advertising sign on it — the ninth advertising trailer impounded since the state law took effect on Jan. 1," reports CBS2.
Under the state law (AB 2756) the Vehicle Code was amended to accord local authorities to regulate mobile advertising, including to remove them by towing. Before anyone gets wrapped up in the "free speech" debate, it's not the billboards themselves that are against the law, but rather that they are unhitched and parked in excess of legally allotted durations that is punishable.
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