Proposed LED billboard a nuisance in the making: Wolseley resident

The planned instalment of a 400-square-foot electronic billboard on the north edge of Wolseley has some neighbours concerned and calling for an end to the project before it even begins.

In March, the City of Winnipeg's Board of Adjustment approved a Pattison Outdoor digital sign for a site at the corner of Evanson Street and Portage Avenue. Andrea Philp lives in Wolseley and said the sign is a bad fit.

She also questions the rationale behind the adjustment board's decision to approve the sign.

"This is the second time I've had to take action as a concerned resident because a sign company wanted to install a digital billboard in my neighbourhood," said Philp.

"One of the chief concerns I have about it is we're dealing with these signs as one-offs despite the fact that the city has policies to restrict them and the planning department has recommended against this sign."

The reason why the city's own planning department rejected the installation, Philp said, is that it's not consistent with Plan Winnipeg's community strategy, nor does it comply with recent changes to the bylaw around restricting electronic signs.

"The reason why it doesn't allow these things is because it's going to cause adverse effects to the immediate area in the form of light spillage into residential properties, notably the new development across portage avenue in the old bread factory building that is going to be a housing complex for 80 families," said Philp. 

In Winnipeg in 2014 we added 21 new digital signs with 10 of them being digital billboard signs and so far in 2015 we have processed two digital billboard signs.

Philp and her neighbours plan to appeal the Board of Adjustment decision on the 912 Portage Avenue digital sign May 14.