QMS’s latest Sydney street furniture update has been overshadowed by negative feedback from pedestrians.
Street billboards are popping up everywhere, much to the chagrin of some pedestrians. The street signs appear in the middle of footpaths and force people to walk single file like baby ducks following their mother.
Sydney’s city has been hit the hardest with installations in Potts Point, QVB and Surry Hills. Many of the billboard installations are as big as 86 inches, so they aren’t easy to miss.
However, it’s worth noting that B&T understands that QMS’s street furniture would have to pass an approval process from the City of Sydney’s town planning department.
B&T has reached out to QMS, but they have declined to comment
https://twitter.com/AlexBouchet/status/1561612588265648128
These new advertising billboards do nothing to enhance the public domain and are one of the worst additions to the Sydney streetscape in recent times. @cityofsydney @CloverMoore pic.twitter.com/k54cLHbgOe
— TheSydneyBlog (@TheSydneyBlog) October 4, 2022
Plus, there’s been an installation of new Telstra phone booths close to street signs that end up obscuring half the view of the billboard. The Telstra phone booths aren’t from QMS, but the combination of the two isn’t ideal.
The billboards aren’t just ads; the signs also convey council messages. So, updates on things like transport, events and emergencies.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Harold Scruby, head of the Pedestrian Council lobby group, said: “They channel pedestrians into very narrow areas. You can’t walk with a partner; you’ve got to walk like a duck in a single file.
“There should be no obstructions on a footpath.”
Plus, SMH also spoke to a commuter, Michael Evangelidis, who found the advertising on both sides of bus shelters in Sydney’s QVB made it difficult to see when buses were coming or going and said: “Particularly for immobile bus users, it’s pretty bad.”
