A Sign of the Times

(7/22/2011)

A sweeping enforcement action carried out on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, saw hundreds of illegal roadside billboard signs and banners in Kuta and Nusa Dua in Bali removed. Included in the clean up were large billboards, small roadside notices and banners.

Bali Post and Nusa Bali report that the clean up covered an area stretching from the Ngurah Rai Statue at Bali’s airport down the Ngurah Rai Bypass to Nusa Dua.

The head of Badung’s Enforcement Agency (Satpol PP), Ketut Martha, declared the sweeping operation was aimed at eliminating hundreds of unauthorized billboards and banners. He said the operation would continue over the coming week.

Coming Soon: Electronic Billboards

In an added effort to reduce roadside signage in Bali, the Denpasar Hygiene and Parks Department have announced plans to install electronic signage in certain locations using Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology.

The electronic signage, emblematic of the displays seen at Times Square in New York City, is expected to begin operating in August 2011. The initial pilot-phase of the new signage program will see LED signs installed at three locations. Jalan Dewi Sartika in front of the Matahari Bali Mall and Robinson-Ramayana Mall. The remaining two locations will be at the “Simpang Enam” (six-way) intersection on Jalan Teuku Umar in Denpasar and in front of the McDonalds’s Restaurant in Sanur.

The actual construction and installation of the signage sites remains under coordination with the property owners at the subject sites.

Authorities are touting the new signs as a pioneering effort for Bali, introducing a medium that is both attractive and able to weather the local climatic conditions. Officials are also optimistic that Bali will be able to emulate the experience of Surabaya in East Java where the new LED signs have helped reduce the visual pollution of too much signage on that city's roadways.

Once the system is fully operational, officials say a maximum number of LED signs operating at a single location will be limited to 5-7 units.

The new signs will be controlled form a remote location, enhancing taxation control and eliminating the need for the current  continual cycle of tearing down and installing signs.

An unnamed investor is said to be underwriting the cost of establishing the electronic signs and providing the team of operators and technicians needed to maintain and operate the system.