Posted on 07/27/2002 8:22:35 AM PDT by vannrox
By Michael Kunzelman / MetroWest Daily News
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
BOSTON - A bill that would force McDonald's to reduce the size of its signs that tower over Massachusetts Turnpike rest areas was approved yesterday by the state House of Representatives.
The measure, an amendment to a transportation bond bill, also calls for the fast-food chain to keep its Pike signs off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., sparing neighbors whose homes are lit up by massive golden arches.
The signs, which advertise McDonald's, Exxon and other Pike vendors, stand about 70 feet tall in Framingham and Natick. Farther west, the signs are even taller.
The House approved an amendment, filed by state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, that would limit the signs' height to 30 feet and require McDonald's to remove the higher signs by 2004.
In the meantime, the chain would have to refrain from illuminating the signs overnight.
"We want the Massachusetts Turnpike to be a good neighbor," said Linsky, adding that he has fielded hundreds of complaints from constituents. "(The signs are) an affront to the people who live in that neighborhood, and it is completely unnecessary."
The Turnpike Authority recently renegotiated its contract with McDonald's. Under the new pact, the Pike stands to receive about $300 million in rent and shared profits over the next 25 years.
Pike spokesman Bob Bliss said the Authority is trying to reach a settlement with the chain that satisfies concerns about the signs' impact on neighboring homes.
However, Turnpike Authority board member Christy Mihos reacted angrily when he learned of Linsky's amendment.
"You've got to be kidding," he said. "What right do they have to go in and try to take down something that was negotiated as a good business deal?"
Mihos said the large signs also carry a public-safety benefit because drivers can see them from farther away.
Linsky said a Pike attorney told him he welcomes the measure.
"He said it could give them some leverage (over McDonald's)," Linsky said.
Efforts to reach a McDonald's spokeswoman were unsuccessful yesterday evening.
The House's $260 million transportation bond bill now heads to the Senate, which already has approved its own version. The two chambers must produce a compromise bill by July 31, the end of the current session, before acting Gov. Jane Swift can sign it into law.
"There are two weeks to do it," said Rep. Stephen LeDuc, D-Marlborough. "That's plenty of time, but I know the sheer volume of work we have is probably challenging."
The House's version of the bond bill includes other Pike-related initiatives.
The bill, for instance, would require the Pike to offer a permanent discount to commuters instead of the six-month discount approved by the Turnpike Authority board last month.
Before Pike tolls east of Rte. 128 doubled July 1, the board voted to offer a 50 percent discount to drivers with Fast Lane transponders.
But Mihos said the House did nothing to help the Pike pay for the permanent discount.
"Unless we get some help, it will be even more difficult than it already is," he said.
The House's bond bill also calls for expanding the Turnpike Authority board from three to five members. At least one of the five members would have to be a resident of MetroWest.
"The message behind that appointment is that a MetroWest voice needs to be heard in a more meaningful way," said Rep. Joseph Sullivan, the Braintree Democrat who serves as House chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Sullivan, who drafted the original version of the House's bond bill, said adding two members could help restore order to the strife-ridden board.
State Sen. David Magnani, however, said the move seems a "premature" given that Mihos and his fellow board members, Jordan Levy and Matthew Amorello, have worked together for less than three months.
"It's a little bit of a slap in the face to not give them some time to re-establish their authority," the Framingham Democrat added.
The House's bond bill also earmarks money for a host of MetroWest-specific projects, including:
- $750,000 for improvements to the intersection of Rte. 20 and Concord Road in Marlborough.
- $500,000 for the creation of a parking lot in Franklin.
- $50,000 for repairs to fences at Rte. 9 and Hartford Street in Natick.
- $200,000 for repairs to the Marion Street bridge in Natick.
- $1.1 million for intersection improvements on Forest Street in Waltham.
- $500,000 for fixing traffic signals in downtown Ashland.
"They've been blinking yellow for more than a year now," said Rep. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland. "It's an accident waiting to happen."
Funds for the projects wouldn't come from the Legislature's budget. Rather, the bill merely authorizes the governor to pick and choose which projects merit funding and borrow money to pay for them.
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