1. A short thread for anyone in Ontario who cares about road safety, tourism, natural beauty, light pollution, astronomy, mental health, lobbyist accountability, wildlife habitat, democracy, and/or death. First, a headline: toronto.ctvnews.ca/ford-wants-to-…
2. Quick background: While some states + provinces allow corporate billboards to line their highways, @ONtransport has, for decades, protected all 400-series highways from billboards. From Windsor to Cornwall, Toronto to Parry Sound, you'll mostly see farmland and forest. 
3. This is a far cry from what you'll find in other jurisdictions who don't protect their scenic corridors. It can get pretty ugly. (And once their up, they never come down. Prevention is the key here. 🔑)
4. "But what about the Gardiner Expressway?" you ask. "It's got billboards". Yes, but that's because the Gardiner is regulated by Toronto City Hall, NOT by the province. And Council has been in the pocket of billboard lobbyists for years: thestar.com/news/city_hall…
5. "But didn't I see some new LED billboards near Pearson airport last year?" Yes, but those are on federal land, not provincial. The province has been really strict on highway billboards, forever, but they had no jurisdiction over those locations, just like the Gardiner. ; (
6. "But... I'm sure I've seen some billboards on the way to Barrie.... right?". Yes, you have. There are two loopholes that billboard companies have been using for years. One is to place really huge billboards half a kilometre away, clear of the 400-metre exclusion zone.
7. The other loophole, believe it or not, is to attach a billboard to a truck... and then just park the truck on farmland. So, it's not technically a "sign"... it's just a truck. 🙄
9. (The worst abuser of this loophole, by far, is a fellow named Paul Sadlon)
10. But aside from the silly trucks, and the distant billboards 400m away, all of Ontario's provincial highways have been protected from commercial billboards (especially LED ones), forever. WHY, you ask? There are three primary reasons.
11. First, billboards are just ugly. No one wants to see them, no one asks for them, no one likes them. They only exist because because of lobbyists who cozy up to decision-makers. Here are some facts about public opinion: scenic.org/sign-control/p…
12. Second, tourism is pretty important. Billions of dollars come into the province every year, so the government tries to keep things looking pretty. Here's a fun game: Try to find a billboard in any of the photos on @OntarioTravel's website: ontariotravel.net/en/explore #DiscoverON
13. Third, billboards are dangerous. Literally, they kill people. This is a fact. It may sound outrageous to you, but it's still a fact. Think about this: the #1 cause of road fatalities is not alcohol, nor speeding. It's distraction. And what is the sole purpose of a billboard?
14. (You can geek out on this particular topic, with this convenient "Compendium of Recent Research Studies on Distraction from Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs" scenic.org/wp-content/upl…)
15. This thread will never end if I go into detail about the other impacts of rural light pollution, the importance of commercial-free spaces in our lives, the obvious negligence of our government to protect the most basic things, and the lack of consultation on this issue...
16. So I'll just say this: Please take a look at ScenicOntario.net, send a message to Transportation Minister @C_Mulroney, get in touch with your own MPP and spread the word. Billboards are an invasive species, and require constant attention. We are about to be swarmed.
17. Addendum: Some of you have pointed out that there are already a few LED billboards on the 401/407 in the GTA. These are all brand new - installed in the last few months. They received municipal permits yrs ago, but the previous ON government refused them, for safety concerns.
18. Here's the sad part: ALL of those megaboards are on land owned by @Metrolinx. While one government agency (@ONtransport) has been trying to protect our highways and our safety for decades, another agency (Metrolinx) has been lobbying the government to erode those same rules.
19. At this point, @metrolinx is likely the largest owner of LED highway billboards in Ontario. #1 Visual Polluters. 🏆 They were the first to successfully get LED billboards approved by the province. Through their lobbying, they've now opened the floodgates for everyone else.
20. The @Metrolinx plan to lobby for digital highway advertising began six years ago.
Two pieces from 2014:
toronto.com/news-story/475…
toronto.com/news-story/475…
Two pieces from 2014:
toronto.com/news-story/475…
toronto.com/news-story/475…
21. Here's a piece from 2015: spacing.ca/toronto/2015/0…
22. And one more, from 2017: toronto.com/news-story/705…
23. The good news, at the time, was that even though @Metrolinx wanted the megaboards, and they'd secured municipal approvals through heavy lobbying, the province wouldn't budge. No billboards on 400-series hwys. Period. That was the rule and @ONtransport was sticking with it.
24. So, what's changed now is that @Metrolinx's lobbyists have finally succeeded where everyone else had failed. @C_Mulroney, as Minister of Transport, personally approved all the brand new LED megaboards that have recently appeared on GTA highways, all on @Metrolinx land.
25. Ok, last tweet. The new megaboards are never coming down. The only question now, is whether there's enough public push-back to prevent this from spreading quickly across Ontario. And that, is up to you. Check out ScenicOntario.net to learn more and get involved. 👍
