(WHAS11)—Beginning Thursday Metro government plans to crack down on roadside advertising.
However, one company said they will sue if Louisville tries to regulate their business. The debate involves benches used as billboards. Along locally-owned roads, companies need a permit to place the benches, but along major state-owned roads like Shelbyville and Dixie Highway, anyone can place an unlimited number of benches anywhere they like. A group of metro council members want control over state-owned roads just like local ones, so they can manage the number of benches placed along those roads. "We have gotten no cooperation. Threatening to sue and saying you're gonna sue, that doesn't scare me a whole lot. What I’d like to do is find a way to cooperate, give them their ability to advertise, and to protect our streets and our ability to manage those streets," Kelly Downard, District 16 councilman, said. Cincinnati-based Bench Billboard Company sued Louisville over the issue in 2005 and won a nearly $100,000 settlement. An attorney for the company said they could sue again if the Metro Council pushes the ordinance forward.
