KSAMC tears down illegal billboard blocking Jamaica Society for the Blind entrance

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation has stepped up action against advertisers who fail to meet local rules, taking down unpaid and unapproved signs across the corporate area — including an illegal billboard at the entrance to the Jamaica Society for the Blind.

KSAMC Chief Executive Officer Robert Hill said the structure raised serious concerns about accessibility and public safety on the public right-of-way.

"This is an offense. This is an affront to the disabled community, and we, as a responsible municipal organization, cannot allow this to stay here. So, we are taking action today to remove this structure from the public right-of-way," Hill said.

According to Hill, officers contacted the advertiser and ordered the billboard taken down, but that instruction was disregarded. The corporation then moved to dismantle it itself.

"We were appalled that having called the advertiser, instructed him to remove it, he refused to do so. So, we're paying him the compliment of doing that today and ensuring that no structure that impedes the movement, particularly of our disabled community, is placed as an impediment to obstruct them from the free movement along the public thoroughfare," he said.

Hill also said that where efforts to regularise signage and collect outstanding fees have repeatedly failed, the corporation will enforce the rules against those who still will not comply.

"We are removing some of the signs from non-compliant clients. We would have written to, we would have called, we would have followed up, and some have remained non-compliant and actually rigid in their stance for not paying. So, we're carrying through our normal legal activities by removing signage which has not been paid for and not been regularized," Hill said.