Video: Brownsville Tones Down Billboard Brightness For Safer Driving
The City of Brownsville wanted to determine proper electronic billboard lighting levels and regulations after drivers and residents claimed they were too bright and distracting.
A Freese and Nichols team specializing in electrical engineering and urban planning equipped city lawmakers with the ability to understand complex, technical information and set safe, new and improved road safety standards by creating a framework to regulate billboard intensity and removing the barrier of technical engineering language through on-site, hands-on demonstrations.
The Challenge: Determine how bright is right
In early 2024, the City of Brownsville, Texas, introduced digital billboards within the city limits. City officials were prompted to review safe lighting standards after many Brownsville residents complained the billboards were “offensively bright,” but did not have the information or tools to properly determine safe luminance and illuminance limits for billboards.
Luminance refers to the light the billboard surface emits (measured in candelas per meter squared), whereas illuminance refers to the amount of light that hits the surface (measured in foot candles). This means luminance is how bright the electronic billboard appears to the viewer, while illuminance is the amount of light the billboard shines onto the road (see below graphic for a visual representation).
Both levels matter. A billboard that produces a minimal increase in illuminance can still produce a significant amount of luminance. Without understanding these technical terms, city lawmakers aren’t empowered to make a proper decision that will benefit all parties involved.
The Solution: Demonstrate complex lighting concepts for easier decision-making
City officials took the initiative to be willing to test the luminance and illuminance levels and remove the barrier to understanding the technical aspect of lighting engineering.
Freese and Nichols evaluated relevant industry standards from the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), Outdoor Advertising Association (OAAA) and International Sign Association (ISA) to properly guide and develop a way for City Commission members to experience the regulations and different lighting standards and make the best decision for Brownsville.
The Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau owned a digital billboard that the project team used to create a hands-on experience to show city lawmakers what different lighting levels feel like and how regulation enforcement could be approached and the tools involved.
“This was an important pathway to helping staff and elected officials understand what these lighting levels mean, giving the sense to the public that the city is taking this seriously and doing everything they can to understand and make the best decision they can for the community,” said Chance Sparks, Freese and Nichols’ Urban Planning + Design Group Manager.
Following the presentation, City Commission members connected the technical standard to what they observed, formed their own opinions and navigated revisions to the electronic sign regulations. These members were able to hold technical discussions and create a proposed amendment to Brownsville’s Unified Development Code based on this demonstration.
The Results: Safety improvements through expert guidance
By focusing on the science and engineering of lighting design, the city developed a regulation through evidence-based reasoning. The innovative approach also helped officials without professional engineering backgrounds understand lighting design in ways they could easily explain to constituents.
This project recently won a Horizon Award, a quarterly award at Freese and Nichols given to projects that encapsulate our culture of innovation.