Urban blight, ugh.
It reminds me of driving the Cross Bronx Expressway in the late 1980s when there were huge city blocks of decayed and half demolished housing left over from when the evicted everyone to make way for the highway.
Maybe the cities and towns could let the abutters put up limited advertising if they fix up and maintain their entire property line with the tracks? Maybe they could base the signage size on the length of the property line.