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New Billboard: Attraction or Distraction?

TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP — A new sign is lighting up along Interstate 380 near Mount Pocono and it’s sure catching the attention of drivers passing throug...
mon billboard

TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP -- A new sign is lighting up along Interstate 380 near Mount Pocono and it's sure catching the attention of drivers passing through the area.

The advertisement for Kalahari was just recently installed. It's bright. It’s big. The electronic sign stands more than 40 feet tall.

"It does light up the area.  Like you can see it all the way from miles and miles away on 380 you can see the sign.  But when you get closer it's just too bright,” said Ritva Robbins of Pocono Summit.

Robbins says she saw it on her way home from work and thinks it's a little brighter than it should be.

"It distracted me as I was driving.  I thought somebody, like who has the high beams or what's going on?"

Allan Seaman of Pocono Summit says the new sign caught his eye, too.

"You know I saw that sign, no question about it. It's huge, but I haven't seen it light.  I have to be honest with you, but it's a beautiful sign," Seaman said.

Tobyhanna Township Manager Phyllis Haase says Kalahari applied for the proper permits, but the sign is in an area where nothing else is really lit up at all.

"So I think for some people coming up it's certainly visible, but it is the only illuminated sign in that area so I think it will stand out once it is up and operating," Haase said.

Tobyhanna Township does have an ordinance that regulates just how bright the sign can be during the day and at nighttime and officials plan to inspect it to make sure everything is up to code.

"I personally think any of those signs are distracting on the highways. I don't think they are good for the highways.  I know it's business and I know it's progress, but I really think it's a distraction no matter what the size is as far as the digital," said Seaman.

Another bright billboard created controversy in 2007. After much debate the state approved it to stay up.

Leaders here in the Poconos say signs like this could be the future.

"I think that now that's the way many areas are going is with the digital signs. It's a crisper image," said Haase.

Kalahari officials confirmed the sign is still in its testing phases. They plan to have it running properly and ready for inspection within the next week.

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