21 billboards causes a stir
Although the department does not usually permit paid advertising on the highway, three of the boards are used to advertise Vodacom and MTN.
Twenty-one billboards that have recently been erected by the transport department between the M4, M27 and N2 have raised a few eyebrows on the North Coast.
Ethekwini Ward 58 councillor Geoff Pullan said the billboards, three of which are paid for, was a money making scheme that could pose a distraction to motorists.
He claimed that although the department does not usually permit paid advertising on the highway, three of the boards are used to advertise Vodacom and MTN.
“There are just too many billboards within such a short distance.
“This is especially suspicious because the department’s philosophy in the past was that paid billboards could cause an accident on the highway by distracting motorists.”
Pullan said his main concerns were the billboards on the M27 bridge over the M4 into Umdloti, on the cane bridge over the M27 between the N2 and the M4, on the cane bridge over the M4 north of the M4/M27.
“This bridge has concrete spalling on the western uprights, which I have reported to DOT previously, so the flat face of the signs will catch our prevailing north/south winds. This may twist the bridge and exacerbate the weakness of the concrete uprights. I feel sure that the investment in these signs would have been better spent policing and preventing bad driving.”
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Concerned Umdloti resident and environmental practitioner Renee Royal she was appalled when the billboards were erected.
“The erection of these large double-sided billboards in a relatively short stretch of 13km is alarming. Not only are they road safety hazards but the area from Umdloti to La Lucia is a prime tourism area for international and local visitors.
“The M4 is the gateway to the city for the majority of those visitors as well as foreign dignitaries, celebrities and sports teams who are driven along this road to their destination. It is an area of unique natural beauty and the billboards are intrusive and detract from this beautiful tropical coastline.”
Pullan said despite taking the matter up with the transport department, he has not yet received an explanation.
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