Councillors in Gibsons say they want to hear from the Advisory Planning Commission and send out a formal request for proposals before deciding about transit bench advertising.
At the March 15 committee of the whole meeting, council revisited an idea brought forward in early 2015 by a company called Suncoast Advertising, which wanted to supply benches for stops in the Town, and then offer advertising space on the benches to local businesses.
There are dozens of Sunshine Coast Transit stops within the Town boundaries. Some have nothing more than a signpost, others have shelters and benches, and some have benches donated by a local realtor that include a small advertising plaque and a map of bus routes.
A report from Town staff said when they took the idea to Sunshine Coast Transit and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, they heard concerns about allowing advertising along Highway 101 and concerns about bus stop advertising in general. The report also said, however, that Sunshine Coast Transit could support the idea if it was part of a municipal program for bus stop improvements.
Coun. Stafford Lumley’s objections were a bit tongue-in-cheek. “My biggest fear would be every one of these benches would have a picture of a real estate agent on it,” he joked. “And, unless Brad Pitt or Kim Kardashian were real estate agents here, they just wouldn’t be worth looking at. That’s the fear – is that these benches would become ugly eyesores.”
Mayor Wayne Rowe said he thought it showed some initiative on the part of the young entrepreneurs who first suggested the idea. “It seems to me it does provide some amenities for citizens without additional costs of the Town … Going forward with the request for proposals and seeing what comes from that is at least worth pursuing.”
