Drivers will see a bigger and more modern electronic sign as they cross the Pitt River Bridge and enter Pitt Meadows from the west.
It will replace an older sign located on the south side of the Lougheed Highway, 240 metres west of Kennedy Road, and will be completed through an agreement with Pattison Outdoor Advertising Ltd.
The proposed new sign is 19.8 meters high, and 32.5 square meters per side – both well above the size allowed in the city sign bylaw. That will require council to pass a bylaw variance to have it installed.
The existing sign face is three by six metres. The new one will be three be 10.6 m.
It will be higher than power lines and wooden poles, to increase visibility.
Mayor John Becker agreed that there had been public complaints about the existing sign, because some drivers found it too bright at night.
“It was a bit of a distraction, because of the old technology,” said Becker.
But city staff believes the new sign, even though it is bigger, will be less of a distraction. The new sign will have automatic sensors installed to adjust the brightness, dependent on the lighting levels – so it will be brighter at noon than at midnight.
Becker said the sign brings revenue to the city, along with a package of improvements for the municipality. But its agreement with Pattison Advertising includes confidentiality around the financial details.
Becker noted that the former council already negotiated the deal, and the existing council is dealing with the height variance.
The city will also have the use of one advertising face on each display screen to promote Pitt Meadows services or programs.
City staff call it “a key feature at the western entrance to the city.”