MBTA rolling out digital ad boards at subway-station entrances

The MBTA and the company that handles its electronic ad boards inside subway stations have begun a program to bring the boards above ground, at the entrances to stations.

The state Office of Outdoor Advertising, which oversees billboards in the state, is currently considering three requests from the T and Outfront Media for "digital urban panel street furniture" at Aquarium on the Blue Line and Kendall on the Red Line. The T and Outdoor Media are looking at additional boards at Porter Square as well. The T already has these boards at Back Bay on the Orange Line and commuter rail.

In addition to 7.5-second ads, the board would also feature supposed real-time subway information. One key difference from the ad boards along tracks in stations, though: No animation.

At an outdoor-advertising hearing today, the city of Boston had no comments on the proposed electronic board at the State Street entrance to the Aquarium station.

Bill Deignan, of Cambridge's Community Development department, however, had a number of questions, including whether the boards will have "next train" time statuses, rather than just saying the Red Line is currently running. He said that given what passes for headway between trains these days, such next-train info would be particularly valuable at Porter, which has the T's deepest platforms, so people could decide while still on the surface whether to head all the way down.

He also requested the board provide information about not just trains, but connecting buses as well - and whether the signs could be dimmed at night and even turned off completely during the times the subway just isn't running.

Outdoor Advertising Director - and former Boston city councilor - Tim McCarthy agreed those are all good questions, but suggested a separate meeting between the T, Outdoor Media and Cambridge to get them answered. Deignan and representatives from the T and Outdoor Media agreed.