LVGA’s mission includes traffic and pedestrian safety, advocacy, and the beautification of our community. We believe this proposal conflicts with all three of those priorities.

Our greatest concern is safety.

Newman Springs Road in this area is already a complicated and heavily traveled corridor. Based on the crash data we have reviewed, there have been approximately 480 reported crashes along the CR 520 corridor from 2022 through June 2026. Even more concerning, 207 of those crashes occurred in the section between Parkway Place and Everett Road, which includes the Exit 109 area.

Drivers approaching Exit 109 are already processing a tremendous amount of information. There are numerous signs and lane-direction decisions as motorists determine which lane they need to be in for the Parkway entrances and surrounding businesses. Adding a large, elevated electronic billboard to this already visually demanding environment is an unnecessary additional distraction.

Research has found that drivers make more and longer glances toward digital billboards than toward conventional signs, particularly when the display changes. Other research has found that digital billboards can affect lane position, speed variability, following distance, and visual attention.

Simply put, a driver cannot look up at a large, bright, changing billboard and simultaneously be giving their full attention to the roadway.

And this concern becomes even greater as this area develops.

The proposed billboard is adjacent to Parkway Place, a residential street, and directly next to the new Avalon Bay apartment development at 331 Newman Springs Road. That development will bring hundreds of residents, including families and residents in affordable housing, and will include a bus stop. We should expect pedestrians to be walking along and crossing Newman Springs Road at different times of day and night to access public transportation, employment, and surrounding businesses.

A Starbucks is also being developed immediately adjacent to this area, which will bring additional vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

We should be designing this corridor to make it safer and easier for drivers to see pedestrians—not introducing another large visual attraction that demands their attention and draws their eyes upward and away from the roadway.

Finally, the LVGA is deeply committed to the beautification and character of Lincroft. A large, elevated electronic billboard is inconsistent with that mission. It would introduce a significant commercial visual element into an already congested corridor and would diminish, rather than enhance, the character of our community.

We respectfully ask the Board to look beyond whether this billboard can technically be accommodated on this property and consider whether it is appropriate for this particular location.

Given the existing crash history, the complexity of the roadway, the residential neighborhood, the significant increase in pedestrians and traffic that is coming, and our community’s commitment to safety and beautification, the Lincroft Village Green Association respectfully urges the Board to deny this application.

Thank you.