SEVEN months ago, the Public Works Department (PWD) embarked on a campaign to rid the island of the growing eyesore and potential hazard of mushrooming advertising billboards.
Yesterday, the Chief District Public Engineer Lefteris Stylianides said the situation was out of control.
“We are at war but for the time being we are alone,” he said.
But who is to blame for the situation?
Stylianides said the law states that any relevant authority must consider public safety and appearance before issuing a permit for putting up a sign.
“The authority should make sure the signs do not hide traffic signs, block vision or distract drivers’ attention,” Stylianides said.
But, judging by the number of billboards, it seems the relevant authorities are doing little to stem the problem.
Stylianides said the PWD had sent letters to the municipalities asking them to refrain from issuing permits because the law says that where they distract drivers’ attention billboards should not be allowed.
He said the law was clear that municipalities should consult with the PWD before issuing permits, something he claimed they did not do.
“I have already asked the Attorney-general to take measures in several cases but there is no result yet,” he said.
Three days ago workers dug up the pavement on Limassol Avenue in Nicosia to install electricity to light up the billboards, Stylianides said.
“They cannot do such a thing without PWD approval; it is illegal,” he accused.
He added: “I gave instructions to my engineer to report the contractor to the police.”
The PWD has asked the Electricity Authority (EAC) not to provide electricity for the specific billboards.
The Cyprus Mail contacted Strovolos Municipality to find out who gave permission for breaking the pavement, but an official there said no one would be available for comment until August 6.
Electricity Authority Spokesman (EAC) Tassos Roussos told the Cyprus Mail he would look into the issue.
One businessman claimed he had been given hell by a municipality about a sign he put up on his property, while the pavement in front was littered with advertising billboards.
Stylianides said his department was doing everything it could about the problem.
“I’ve already asked for legal measures to be taken against those who install them without permission.
“I believe municipalities in several cases give permits illegally.
“The whole island has filled with billboards, most of the illegal.
“It’s a huge problem,” Stylianides said.
“The Rizoelia junction near Larnaca looks like an open cinema,” he added.
Stylianides said that most of the signs put up on motorways were illegal.
For a while, he said, motorways were free of signs, but in recent months they are cropping everywhere.
Areas outside municipal boundaries need the permit of the district officer before putting up a sign.
But advertising companies agree with the owners of land near the motorway to put up billboards for a fee, in most cases without the permission of the district officer.
The General Director of the Cyprus Consumers Association Dinos Ioannou echoed Stylianides.
“Unfortunately because municipalities make a lot of money out of this they give permits continuously and the issue is getting out of control,” he said.
He added: “especially on motorways there is now a very high risk of accident.”
Ioannou said that the association had written letters to the Communications Ministry, which replied that current legislation was inadequate and they were trying to update it.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
