A proposed digital billboard beside one of the busiest intersections on Hobart’s eastern shore has prompted concerns about driver distraction from the local council.
Bishopp Outdoor Advertising has applied to install the screen on the Repco site at the corner of Mornington Road and the South Arm Highway.
The single-sided LED sign would be six metres wide and three metres high, mounted on a pylon.
It would face southbound traffic about 80 metres past the Mornington roundabout, with ads changing every 30 seconds between 6am and 11pm.
Planning documents currently on public display show the Clarence City Council has asked the company for more information about road safety.
“The proposed billboard has the potential to increase driver distraction within a complex and demanding driving environment,” the council said.
It noted the surrounding roads had a history of crashes, including a fatal crash in 2017.
The state’s road and infrastructure agency, Building Tasmania, has also raised concerns about the timing.
In advice passed on by the council, the agency described the proposal as “premature” given planned upgrades to the Mornington roundabout and connecting roads.
The state and federal governments have committed $100 million to upgrade the area, including replacing the roundabout with traffic lights and relocating the Mornington Road intersection.
No design or timeline has been released for the relocation.
The company’s traffic consultant has rejected the council’s concerns, arguing drivers waiting to cross the highway would not be able to see the screen.
It also pointed to research it said found “no evidence” of a link between billboards and crashes.
“Council’s assertion that road safety risk may be increased is unfounded,” O’Brien Traffic director Jemima Macaulay wrote.
Homes in Balcumbi Street sit about 45 metres from the proposed billboard. A lighting report commissioned by Bishopp found no measurable light would reach their windows.
“… Just because you can see a digital billboard does not make it obtrusive,” lighting consultant Russ Kern wrote.
The company plans to sell advertising space to Repco, other businesses in the Mornington business park and outside advertisers.
Public comments on the proposal can be lodged with the Clarence City Council until October 27.
