I mentioned this recently, but was only able to snap a picture of it yesterday. There were at least 4 others of these along the way. I find it absurd that our tax dollars are being spent on advertising the fact that toll running will not be tolerated. Instead of highway improvements, more road rangers, or simply more FHP (you know, to catch the toll runners), our money is going down the drain with catchy slogans on oversized billboards. I can only imagine what the Clear Channel bill amounts to. What was the point of those electronic billboards (Florida Sun Guide) if we never intended to use them to actually advertise highway related information? Just another instance of our tax dollars at waste…
Something I have seen as a trend in Florida, especially Miami, is to take something done successfully by other cities and do it in Miami half-way. This is true with Metrorail, HOV Lanes, moving sidewalks at the airport, and as this post today points out, electronic roadway signs.
As a child, I remember my parents fearing driving through Atlanta. The traffic was fast, aggressive, and overall very dangerous. Now they don’t mind. They have Electronic Road Condition signs all over that city. The signs constantly show estimated drive times to certain locations and interchanges. They also warn of road closures and accidents. Miami’s signs aren’t a total loss though, One day I did see an Amber Alert and when the lackluster hurricane of last year came through, there was indication of free tolls because of hurricane evacuation. I do feel there is a real issue with underutilization with those signs though.