Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Bright Lights, Big City

So the North Shore casino is looking for jumbotrons? And the city has an obnoxious legal battle with Lamar over electronic billboards?

I know I'm not the only one to think that some zoning compromise could come out of this if the right people sat down at a table together. Otherwise, the city is just asking for trouble (from Lamar) if it approves the jumbotrons on the North Shore.

Personally, it all sounds rather garish to me, but we are talking about a casino - a casino which stands to save taxpayers loads of money on property taxes if we're to believe Rendell and the Meadows hype.

According to the Rivers Casino website:

"Whether you prefer the exciting atmosphere of our gaming floor or the tranquil surroundings along our riverfront esplanade, our facility will be a premier destination for residents and visitors alike."

Their rendering of the casino is clearly of the tranquil side. They forgot to mention the light and noise pollution of traffic arriving at all hours and flashing electronic billboards. Who is that designed to appeal to? The greedy business owners who can't get enough?

1 comment:

n'at said...

I don't think there is an issue with zoning, because they're not within the "golden triangle" business district, which apparently has constraints regarding electronic signage that other areas of the city do not - except for the northeast corner of Second and Grant.

"Architect Michael Stern told city planning commission members today the casino hopes to use the LCD video boards, each 31.25 feet by 17.5 feet, to advertise events and restaurants within the riverside complex and perhaps even display live shots of fireworks shows, performances, or other activities." I think it'd be nice to watch fireworks from the north shore on a jumbotron, way better than just looking skyward from the lawn on the north shore or lounging at home and watching WPXI broadcast 17 angles of Zambelli goodness from a big screen HDTV with Dolby Digital Surround Sound.