Billboards set up illegally will be removed

The billboards in the municipality of Chisinau that are situated at a distance smaller than six meters from the roadway will be taken away. The first billboards to be removed will be those located on the street going to the airport. Radu Blaj, the head of the Architecture and Urbanism Division, has told Info-Prim Neo that a deadline will be soon set, by which the owners will have to take the given billboards down. Initially, it was suggested that the billboards should be removed by Easter, but the time limit was extended owing to technical reasons. The mayor is to sign the order to take away the billboards set up on the street that connects the Chisinau International Airport and Botanica district, up to the City’s Gates. If the economic entities do not comply with the decision, the City Hall will remove them by force, but the related expenses will be covered by the owners. If they refuse to cover the given costs, they will be sued. A working group will make a feasibility study to decide how the billboards will be relocated. The external advertisements in the municipality of Chisinau now cover an area of over 40,000 square meters. Last July, the legislative body adopted amendments to the Road Law, banning the setting up of billboards at a distance smaller than six meters from the roadway and near bridges, viaducts and road barriers. Outside settlements, the billboards must be built up at a distance of minimum 150 meters of stoplights.