Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press

A state group called Scenic Missouri is calling for the removal of two digital billboards on U.S. Highway 169 in Buchanan County.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — An anti-billboard group is asking the state to flip the switch on two brilliant signs on the North Belt Highway that slipped past a federal rule.

The digital billboards, one just south of Gene Field Road and another near Cool Crest Garden Golf, are two of about a dozen statewide that have caught the attention of Scenic Missouri.

Executive Director John Regenbogen contends companies illegally upgraded the billboards to digital changeable-copy technology.

“They are standing in clear violation of federal law,” Mr. Regenbogen said, “We’re concerned about the increased distraction to motorists ... and we’re encouraging no action be taken to allow more of these digital upgrades.”

The state isn’t arguing against Scenic Missouri, but a Missouri Department of Transportation official told the News-Press Monday that no plans exist to remove the signs.

After all, MoDOT approved an application from Lamar Outdoor of Kansas City to upgrade the local signs in question 10 months ago, according to a May 10 letter from the agency.

With MoDOT’s approval, the city also cleared Lamar for the signs and issued the company the appropriate permits so the billboards could go digital, St. Joseph City Planner Mike Kellam said.

After the positive permitting experience, Lamar then let the city use the signs free for 30 days.

Here comes the snag.

“Shortly after they were erected, we realized our rules didn’t cover (digital upgrades) on nonconforming signs,” MoDOT Outdoor Advertising Manager Joyce Musick said.

In September, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission received a directive from the Federal Highway Administration to stop the digital upgrades on billboards that don’t conform with current regulations.

For example, the two on the Belt are considered nonconforming signs because they violate 1,400-foot spacing requirements. One is nearly 1,200 feet away from another board, while one is nearly 1,300 feet away from another board, according to MoDOT. They didn’t violate regulations before 2002, when state law became stricter, so they’re allowed to stand, but still deemed nonconforming.

The commission in November enacted an emergency rule to comply with the federal directive, but since the upgrades took place before the vote, MoDOT isn’t pursuing any retroactive action, Ms. Musick said.

“We’ve just moved forward,” she said.

The directive doesn’t prohibit new digital signs or upgrades on ones that comply with state laws.

Scenic Missouri opposes all of the above, citing research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which in 2006 determined that anything that distracts motorists more than two seconds increases crash risk by 200 percent or more.

While a federal study currently is in the works to evaluate the safety of digital boards, she said MoDOT has taken no issue with them.

Federal regulations make it so digital signs can’t use images that flash or scroll. Images also must remain stagnant for at least eight seconds before changing.

Lamar owns 22 of the roughly 30 digital signs that scatter Missouri highways. Kansas City General Manager Bob Fessler cited two private studies that concluded the signs had no effect on traffic crashes.

“I kinda shake my head when I hear this,” he said of the alleged safety risks. He pointed to the countless signs that have flashed and scrolled on private property since the 1980s.

Mr. Kellam, who also has no plans to remove the signs, said he prefers the electronic signs from a planning perspective, since they allow multiple advertisers on one sign, as opposed to multiple signs. He noted the city soon will update its zoning code to include language addressing the new technologies used in billboard advertising.

In other billboard news, the Missouri Senate this week is expected to debate SB 809, which would permit companies to relocate nonconforming signs without having to meet the 1,400-foot spacing rule for the purpose of interstate construction.

Alyson E. Raletz can be reached at alysonraletz@npgco.com.