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The Daily Tar Heel

Chapel Hill Town Council to discuss bus advertising

The frenzy of larger-than-life advertising that many associate with the streets of big cities could soon appear in Chapel Hill and save the town money.

The Chapel Hill Town Council will consider implementing an exterior transit advertising program at its Monday night meeting as part of a search for ways to lessen the burden of transit expenses.

With an annual transportation budget of more than $17 million, Town Transit Director Steve Spade said any funding alleviation the town can bring to the table should be considered.

Spade said he projects a bus advertising program would net the town around $200,000 per year in its initial stages. Once the program matures, he said the profit could reach upwards of $450,000.

The council considered and rejected transit advertisement initiatives in 2001 and 2005, but Spade said the transportation system was not as tight on funding then as it is now.

“With the cost of fuel rising like it is and with the decrease in public subsidies, it’s more important for us to take a serious look at this,” he said. “Every dollar we take in in ad revenue is one less tax dollar we have to spend.”

Spade said it costs between $4,000 and $6,000 to wrap each bus, and he recommends that the council cap the number of buses with exterior ads at 15.

If the council approves the advertising program, Spade said the wrapping process will take place one bus at a time as the town sells advertisements.

Council member Matt Czajkowski said he envisions the program drawing in advertisers on a national level, especially because of the town’s connection to the University and its sporting events.

“I think this a very attractive market for the likes of Nike and those kinds of companies,” he said. “We’ve got close to 30,000 students, and that’s always a highly prized target market.”

While he was not on the council when it considered transit ads previously, Czajkowski said there are some residents who feel that placing ads on buses could make the town look overly commercial.

But he said if the program is approached with an insistence that the design of the ads be entertaining, it could open a new creative outlet for the town.

“There’s no rule that says advertising has to be crass and ugly,” he said.

The council will also discuss the adoption of its affordable housing strategy Monday night.

Council members established the goal of increasing the options of affordable housing for residents who range from homeless to middle-income at the council retreat in February.

Rae Buckley, town housing and neighborhood services senior planner, said the Planning Department has been gathering community input on housing needs for months and has created a draft of the strategy.

The draft includes pursuing creative partnerships, balancing economic vitality, social equity and environmental protection and creating affordable options for different types of housing.

“We were given some direction back in November and held small focus groups that allowed us to talk to over 450 residents,” she said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

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