The Patriot Ledger By Fred Hanson March 17, 2017
The state will hold a April 13 hearing on a proposal to construct an electronic billboard along Route 3 in Braintree.
Braintree, MA – The North Braintree Civic Association is planning to oppose a request to install electronic billboards adjacent to Route 3.
Clear Channel Outdoor has proposed the double-sided billboard on land adjacent to 131 Elm St. The land is located between the Elm Street bridge and the railroad underpass to the highway.
It is also the area where the tracks of the Greenbush line join those of the other two lines of the MBTA’s Old Colony Line.
“We don’t need to be Las Vegas,” said Kelly Moore, the president of the North Braintree Civic Association.
He said the group has opposed the construction of electronic billboards along between Route 128 and Wood Road.
“It’s another step towards being a city and we don’t need that,” said Moore.
The state’s Office of Outdoor Advertising, part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will hold a public meeting on the proposal at 11 a.m. April 13 in conference rooms 5 and 6 on the second floor of the Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza in Boston.
The notice for the meeting did not include any details on the proposed billboards, such as their size and height. It also could not be determined Friday if town approval would also be needed.
Back in 2015, the town approved a zoning change which allows billboards along highways, providing they are at least 1,000 feet from residential areas.
Later that year, the planning board approved one application for a billboard along Wood Road. The billboard owner will pay the town $1.5 million over 25 years.
A second application in the same area was rejected and a third withdrawn.
Written comments on the proposal can be sent prior to the meeting to The Office of Outdoor Advertising; Attention: John Romano, director; 10 Park Plaza, Room 6141; Boston, MA 02116.