Facts
[A. GmbH] submitted an application on 29 November 2011 for the construction of a free-standing LED screen for digital poster advertising on plot No. 997 at Bielstrasse 11 in Oberbipp. The Road Construction Office of the Canton of Bern came to the conclusion in its expert report that the construction project would noticeably impair traffic safety on the cantonal road. The Municipal Council rejected the application on 12 February 2013. [A. GmbH] appealed to the Building, Transport and Energy Directorate of the Canton of Bern, but it was dismissed. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern dismissed the appeal lodged against it on 4 December 2013.
[A. GmbH] lodged an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Court on 3 January 2014 and requested that the administrative court's decision be set aside and the matter be referred back to the Municipal Council of Oberbipp for the granting of the building permit.
Considerations
The Federal Court admitted the appeal as all the prerequisites for a judgment on the merits were met. The appellant complained that the Administrative Court had failed to fulfill its duty to clarify the facts and had violated the right to be heard by waiving the requested means of evidence.
However, the Federal Court came to the conclusion that the Administrative Court had fulfilled its duty to clarify the facts and that the appellant had not substantiated its complaints. The Court found that the high traffic density on the relevant road section and the possible distraction of drivers by the LED advertising system could constitute an impairment of traffic safety.
The Federal Court also rejected the appellant's complaint that the lower courts had wrongly qualified the traffic situation as complex. It found that the lower courts' comments on the circumstances of the individual case were not objectionable and that the appellant had not convincingly justified its objections.
Finally, the Federal Court…