Well, if OKC Beautiful has it's way, there will be no billboards on the new I-40 Crosstown. Although I'm not typically a fan of billboards, I'm not too sure if limiting them all together is such a good idea. I think maybe we should limit them, but I think billboards can be beneficial on the Crosstown, especially for advertising city events and attractions. For example, Stubbs, the owner of Cattlemen's Steakhouse uses billboards on I-40 to lure travelers to his historic restaurant.

What do you guys think?

Here's a transcript of the story that aired on News9:

"Billboard battle brewing in metro


By Alex Cameron
NEWS 9

The following is a script from a News9 broadcast
There's a battle brewing over billboards in Oklahoma City.

NEWS 9 video

Yesterday, the city planning commission voted unanimously to ban all billboards in an area that includes the future location of the I-40 Crosstown. And some business owners are very concerned.

Business at Cattlemen's Steak House is beefy, and owner Dick Stubbs attributes at least some of that success to billboards.

Stubbs says more than 70 percent of his customers come from outside Oklahoma City, and says the two billboards he rents on I-40 have been invaluable.

Oklahoma City Beautiful's Allen Paine says the current I-40 Crosstown is polluted by 34 billboards, and with all the effort Oklahoma City is putting into revitalizing and beautifying downtown, it's important to keep the new $200 million Crosstown billboard-free.

Stubbs says it's a nice idea, but without billboards directing people off the exit, he'll lose business.

Paine says they will have what he calls tasteful directional signs at the exits inside the billboard-free area, directing motorists to restaurants, hotels and other points of interest.

A six-month moratorium on new billboards along the Crosstown is expected to be extended 60 days next week. Thay gives council until November to decide whether to approve the planning commission's recommendation. "