Keep Our Sidewalks Clear: Stop the Expansion of Digital Advertising Kiosks!

Over the past few years, we have watched as our sidewalks have become home to digital advertising kiosks (IKE signs). These massive ad-driven screens do not serve the needs of our community. Instead, they create accessibility barriers, clutter sidewalks, attract vandalism, and contribute to visual pollution in our shared public spaces.

These kiosks are being marketed as a public benefit, but in reality, they prioritize advertising revenue over any useful “wayfinding” information.

Our biggest concerns:

🚫 Blocking Sidewalks & Accessibility Issues – These kiosks are creating obstacles for pedestrians, wheelchair users, seniors, sight-impaired, and those with mobility challenges, impairing accessibility in already crowded sidewalks. 

🚫 Visual Clutter & Eye Sores – The growth of these kiosks has quickly become an eye sore. These blinking monoliths now clutter our sidewalks degrading the character and personality of our neighborhoods and our city. 

🚫 Attracting Vandalism & Maintenance Issues – These kiosks have already been targets for graffiti, stickers, and other forms of vandalism, creating additional maintenance costs and further contributing to urban blight.

🚫 Prioritizing Ads Over Community Needs – We should be investing in solutions that improve mobility, not corporate kiosks disguised as public infrastructure.

It’s important to note that this is different from a digital sign at a transit stop. Those kinds of signs offer up-to-date information on mobility connections and do not add to the clutter of urban landscapes. We oppose kiosks like the ones seen in Dallas where community leaders have already expressed firm opposition to these kiosks. 

** In Dallas, Even the Sidewalks Are for Sale ​

***Downtown’s largest property owners really don’t want more sidewalk kiosks.

Join us and stand up against the expansion of digital advertising kiosks and shift focus back to real transit improvements that enhance accessibility and prioritize community-driven solutions—not corporate interests.

Sign this petition to keep our sidewalks clear, accessible, and free from unnecessary digital clutter!

*I authored this as a lifelong user of Transit, and someone who saw the damage caused by digital advertising kiosks in other cities, like Dallas and San Diego. Today, I live in southeast Austin on a transit corridor, and work downtown. I know Austin will suffer due to sights like the one in the picture I posted with this petition.