Image: Councillor Yvonne Weldon. Gaye Gerard, AAP Image
by GRACE JOHNSON
The City of Sydney will have to spend $325,000 to pull down advertising billboards and various pieces of “street furniture” only months after they were erected due to them hindering pedestrians and obstructing sight lines.
At least 31 pieces of street furniture, which come from a deal with advertising giant QMS, will have to be torn down or relocated, as well as several 86-inch digital billboards.
“It’s a disgrace,” said Independent Councillor Yvonne Weldon. “The poorly located billboards should never have made it passed the planning stage.”
“They were installed with no regard for the impact upon pedestrians and local businesses. Some were even placed at bus stops completely blocking vision of approaching buses.”
Had the Lord Mayor not defended the billboards as they were rolled out, and had she intervened sooner, remediation costs would have been nowhere near this high, she continued.
“This money could have been dedicated to homelessness services or put towards new community facilities.”
The deal with QMS includes dozens of new 86-inch digital billboards, seats at bus stops, and bins. Both the City and QMS get a share of advertising profits from the structures.
The roll out of the structures began in 2020. Pedestrians complained almost immediately after that they were being impeded by the structures, being placed in the middle of the footpath.
In 2022, the Lord Mayor announced that works would be paused and reviewed due to significant backlash.
Though all pieces of street furniture, with the exception of seats and bins, had to go through council’s development application process, Cr Weldon says community concerns were disregarded from the outset.
In response to City Hub inquiries, a City of Sydney spokesperson said, “Our Design Advisory Panel spent months working with QMS on the new designs to ensure they comply with current design standards and accessibility requirements.”
“However, following installation, it was clear the location of some of the items of street furniture, in particular the placement of some of the freestanding advertising screens, had undue impact on pedestrian access.”
The spokesperson confirmed that QMS have begun removal works, and that around 20 screens will be removed or relocated by the end of June.
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