Walls of giant advertisements blamed for blocking air flow in busy areas
Giant advertising signs that block airflow in crowded pedestrian areas have prompted calls from green groups and lawmakers for the government to impose stricter controls on their size and location.
Colourful neon signs and eye-catching signboards have long been a Hong Kong signature. But since air quality is now a major concern, the large-scale outdoor advertisements - which reduce the air flow in urban areas - have sparked a war of words between concern groups and the advertising sector.
In a crowded shopping area in Causeway Bay just behind Times Square, a billboard 6.6 metres wide and 10 metres high was erected from a building along Canal Road East. The billboard shows smiling children with Lee Kum Kee sauces.
But according to new Buildings Department guidelines, a sign should not project more than 4.2 metres from a building, or beyond the centre line of a street.
An outdoor advertisement as large as Lee Kum Kee's is worth more than HK$100,000 a month, a sales representative from Convey Advertising Company - which put up the billboard - said. But the spokesman refused to comment on the scale of the advertisement.