Seems there are two main ideas being discussed here - digital billboards and accent/neon lighting.
Digital billboards - especially those ones that look like huge extra-bright TVs with lots of distracting action going on - I'm not a fan. I find the in-your-face brightness and non-stop action and movement both distracting and annoying, and I think they really cheapen the look of an area. Makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a huge video game. I will be majorly disappointed if they start to make a major appearance in Halifax.
On the other hand, I find accent lighting and neon signs to be quite interesting and attractive, if done "right" (which may mean different things to different people, of course). I can remember about 40 years ago when there were many neon signs in the area and I always really liked their soft glow brightening up the night. These signs have slowly disappeared in the subsequent years, mostly, I believe due to the cost of repairing them as they age (or replacing them in cases like the Esquire Hotel, where their neon sign was mangled from Hurricane Juan).
I understand that there is now LED technology available which mimics the look of neon (see link:
http://www.ledneonflex.com/). I'd like to see some imaginative use of this type of technology to be used in signage and accent lighting to brighten up the area at night.
So, to sum up my opinions:
-Huge animated video billboards -
no.
-Accent lighting and neon signs -
yes.
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