P.O. Box 6456, Austin, Texas 78702 | (512) 478-5042
Scenic Austin Chapter
Founded in 1991, Scenic Austin promotes scenic beauty as a valuable asset for all who live, visit, and conduct business in the City of Austin. We are committed to preserving and enhancing the natural and built environment of the city through public policy, information, advocacy and education.
On the 50th Anniversary of Lady Bird Johnson’s Highway Beautification Act, representatives of Utah-headquartered Reagan Outdoor Advertising are asking that Austin city leaders permit them to convert Reagan’s existing static billboards into digital changeable message boards that would switch advertisVements as often as every eight seconds, that’s 400 changes in an hour or 10,000 changes in a day. Reagan advertisers seem to prefer that we see their changing commercials rather than the glorious central Texas wildflowers and night skies or even the beautiful urban architecture and unique streetscapes.
Right now, we don’t see digital billboards in Austin because they have always been prohibited. Similarly, we do not see digital billboards in 90% of all our Texas cities including Fort Worth, Galveston and Houston, the largest unzoned, business-friendly city in the State, if not the country.
But that could change soon if we don’t act now!
Scenic Austin is currently raising funds to educate citizens about billboards and the negative effect they have on our community and help ensure they are not converted to digital. We will be able to modestly pay our hardworking staff and help build community support to encourage city council to do the right thing and keep billboards out of our neighborhoods.
We need your support today! As our community continues to grow, we want to help ensure it preserves the true spirit of Austin. Our skyline is changing every day, let’s not litter it with flashing advertisements.
Help us preserve the quality of life for all Austin residents by supporting Scenic Austin. Make a donation today!
Accomplishments
- Successfully advocated for prohibition of new billboard construction in Austin
- Opposed overhead electric distribution lines in Austin
- Worked with partners to abate litter and reduce grafitti throughout the city
- Successfully supported context-sensitive design solutions for Austin infrastructure projects
- Assisted the City of Austin in securing an ISTEA grant to conduct a citywide billboard inventory
- Encouraged TXDOT to enforce the Texas Rural Road Act
