About Billboards!

Billboard create a pathetic sight. First they block the beautiful scenery. Secondly, they may lead to accidents especially for motorists as they tend to admire and reading what is displayed. Thirdly, they may fall on pedestrians especially in times of heavy storms.
Linda Nchimunya Chipuma Mbangweta, E-mail

I visited Zambia in 1997. I remember small billboards along the roadway that were small and painted by hand. These were very attractive to me. I like to see them. They had a good message. But I also remember many signs in the city that were painted on the long walls. These did not look so good. Billboards are best if put in designated areas only. They should not be allowed in areas of much traffic. They can cause automobile accidents if drivers look to long at the billboard. They should have some nice handpainted artwork to make them more attractive.
I live in the United States of America. We have many billboards. They look bad. All are made by computer imaging. Very boring. Your billboards have character because many of them are very different from each other. Keep it that way! Do not become like American advertising.
Just my opinion.
Rocky Nichol, E-mail

I have always hated billboards–wherever they are found! However, I especially detest the ones I have seen in Lusaka that advertise condoms.

TJKAFORHIM@aol.com

I am happy to commend the City on how lovely the area along Independence venue is looking lately. The trees are in bloom, bursting with bright colours, and the roundabouts are looking clean and well groomed. Yet sadly, the beautification project comes to an abrupt halt at the Woodlands roundabout and shopping centre, which frankly has become an eyesore for the neighbourhood. The roundabout itself is horribly neglected with debris and rubbish strewn everywhere. It looks as though repairs were started at one point, but then suddenly abandoned.
The shopping centre across from the roundabout is even worse. Despite signs proclaiming, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” and “Litter Spreads Disease” the area could not be dirtier or more unkempt. What should be a pleasing, shaded area is marred by an unsightly charred rubbish heap right in the middle, dust bins overflow with trash; bags, rubbish, and debris litter the sidewalks, grassy area, gutters and street. I have even seen employees sweeping dirt from the shops directly onto the sidewalks where shoppers are obliged to amble through it. The whole shopping area is filthy and honestly is a real deterrent to those of us who would otherwise appreciate the convenience of shopping there.
I commend the city’s efforts to clean and improve its roundabouts, but please do not stop the process short of Woodlands Roundabout! I beg the shopkeepers, for the sake of their own businesses, to monitor the sanitation in front of their own shops and ensure that no rubbish is thrown onto the sidewalk or street. I would urge both the City and shopkeepers to ensure that adequate dust bins are provided and that rubbish is collected on a regular basis and, most importantly, to mount an anti-litter campaign to clean up the Woodlands roundabout and shopping area for once and for all. If everyone works together, Woodlands will be just as beautiful as the rest of Independence Avenue.
K. Cavanagh, Woodlands Resident