By Brandon T. Bisceglia
A proposal that would allow electronic billboards along I-95 in Milford that failed in late 2019 has been resurrected.
The Planning and Zoning Board will have a public hearing on the proposal at its June 2 meeting.
The proposal was brought to the board by Attorney Kevin J. Curseaden of Milford-based Curseaden & Moore on behalf of his client, Dominic DeMartino, who owns an industrial building at 45 Banner Dr. that already has a non-digital billboard that faces the highway’s northbound lanes.
The vote on the proposal on Dec. 17 was 5-4 in favor but failed because regulation changes require at least six votes to pass.
Since then, the makeup of the board has changed. Two of the original no votes came from John Grant and Scott Marlow, both of whom did not run for reelection. Thomas Panzella, one of the yes votes, was not reelected.
Several businesses spoke in favor of the change during the December public hearings, but most of the residents who spoke were opposed to the measure.
Some have already voiced continued disapproval. In a letter sent to the Milford-Orange Times, one group cited safety concerns, noting that other communities along I-95 do not use them, including Greenwich, Norwalk, Darien, Westport, Branford, Guilford and Madison.
“No research has proven without a doubt that billboards are not a safety hazard,” the letter says.
Digital billboards allow for displays to change, often at a rate of around every 10 seconds. Though research has shown that such displays do attract drivers’ attention to a greater degree than billboards with static images, there is conflicting evidence about whether they have any impact on traffic safety.