Some Beach-Goers Irked By Ads Plastered On Underpass Leading To Oak Street Beach
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the first time in memory, the underpass leading to Oak Street Beach is plastered with billboards and not everybody is pleased to see them as part of the lakefront panorama.
Some people don't even really notice the yellow and black billboards for Sprint.
"It kind of adds color. It would look like dirty walls without it. I don't really mind," say two young female suburbanites.
But Rob Thomas noticed them. He's been going to Oak Street Beach for years.
"I come here every day, even in the winter... If I can get the snow out of the way, I'll sit here."
Thomas says he noticed the billboards in the underpass about a month and a half ago.
"I found it very surprising as I walked underneath there and I saw. Also, not just the fact that they were there but the scale of it. They basically sold the whole underpass. It's completely covered with billboards."
He says he knows the park district is strapped for cash.
"I can't imagine that that marginal amount of money would make a difference. Let's face it. Chicago government is bloated with workers standing around looking at each other, and we all know that that's the way the park district is going to have to balance its budget, not by advertising on the walls."
WBBM has asked the Chicago Park District for comment.