Increase in outdoor advertising trailers in Midrand infringe on city by-laws
JMPD spokesperson says their officers are challenged when trying to impound trailers that impede the by-laws if they do not have wheels to be towed.
An increase of outdoor advertising trailers plaguing Midrand and Kyalami infringes on the Outdoor Advertising by-laws.
The trailers are scattered in various suburbs of Midrand, mostly affecting Vorna Valley and Halfway House.
In Vorna Valley, Harry Galaun Drive and Moerdyk Street, Smit Drive and Le Roux Ave, Elizabeth Fry and Anton Hartmann streets were some of the many intersections where these trailers are parked.
Pretoria Main Road and Le Roux Avenue in Halfway House were also affected by these trailers which have been there for about two months now.
A concerned Vorna Valley resident, Mark Straw who drives around the suburb taking down illegal signs and posters, has now ventured on the journey of getting illegal trailers removed by Johannesburg Metro Police Department officials (JMPD).
Straw claimed that some of these trailers were infringing on the municipal by-laws of the City as they did not adhere to some of the rules.
“However, many of these trailers do not have license discs displayed on them. And some are parked illegally on the medians of the road while others are left there for days and weeks,” said Straw.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla confirmed that some of the trailers were contravening the by-laws when kept overnight at the allocated area.
Fihla said upon approval of an application for a trailer advertising sign, a disc will be issued by the city which must be displayed at all times on the trailer advertising sign itself.
He said they [officers] constantly enforce the outdoor advertising by-laws by impounding advertising trailers which are contravening the act.
“When an advertising trailer is found overnight at the area allocated, a seven-day notice is issued to the owner for the removal of the trailer, and if it’s not removed in that time frame officers will then impound the trailer,” said Fihla.
However, the challenges officers encounter is that at times these trailers do not have any wheels for them to be towed or the axles of the wheels are chained, and this makes it difficult for officers to remove them.
“So, they resort to either removing the canvas from the trailer or just tilting the trailer on its side so that advert is not visible.”
City’s Outdoor Advertising Assistant Director Samuel Maluleka was asked on May 4 if the trailers were indeed tampering with the by-laws and how?
Maluleka had not responded at the time of going to print.
Related article:
