| Glasgow Gets Clever Fighting Unwanted Show Posters | |
I am personally a fan of of show [and other such] posters around town(s), I find them a measure of activity in a given locale if nothing else. Except often there are examples of outstanding design incorporated with such posters making them nice to look at themselves [though not always].
However, I have to give credit where credit is due and over in Glasgow they have come up with a pretty clever means of addressing the issue there:
Canceled signs, above, block some posters while others are painted out. Pictures: Jamie Simpson
From the Evening Times [this is via Boing Boing]:
A council source said: “We can be a complete pain in the neck to the people doing this because the money and time they spend is completely wasted.
A little evil perhaps, but still smart.
The article notes that such posters are illegal there, for which I will have to take their word.
There have been long standing and ongoing debates over the issue locally here in Halifax as well as across the country. I have even been interviewed for a news story in the past on the issue and the need for such promotional opportunities for bands.
Some venues, like Zaphod Beeblebrox in Ottawa even offer a page on postering etiquette and law.
Here`s a summary (from 2004) written by Waye Mason of the Halifax Pop Explosion on the still-pretty-much-the-same-situation here in Halifax:
In the olden days before HRM, postering was governed by both the Provincial “litter abatement act” but mostly it was enforced through Ordinance 19, originally passed in 1936, of the old City of Halifax. Also this S800 in Dartmouth, I only just found tonight while looking.
In Ramsden v. Peterborough (City) 1993 the Supreme Court of Canada held, 9 to 0 that it was your constitutional right to poster… the City and then HRM did not update the by-law.
The Supreme Court was pretty specific. Posters should not face the street to distract drivers, should not be on street signs (so, no STOP THE ECOCIDE stickers) and should not be put on electrical boxes or impede the ability of power or other utility workers to access, repair and maintain the equipment.
Also, the municipality can as always put reasonable limits on your freedom of expression, so if they had poster penises and posters boards every place in town, on every main street, on every telephone poll, they could restrict the placement on utility poles… and you can never, ever, poster on switch boxes, on stop signs, no pasting stuff on the access hatches to the base of a light pole.
What is funny is the old Ordinance actually has all these reasonable restrictions about where you could and could not “post billsâ€? but you need to pay $125.00 to get a license to be allowed to post bills. In 1994 I was told by the city solicitor that the Chief of Police (HPD) was the city official who licensed people to post bills. The Chief’s office said “we don’t and won’t license you.”
I suspect the Court would find the $125 fee an unreasonable restriction on Charter rights. But I am sure the fact that they have a bunch of rules and will not let anyone actually get the license is an unreasonable restriction.
I always tell the Pop Explosion poster volunteers “If you get hassled, ask for a ticket, I will take it and go to court.” In 9 years, no tickets. I have personally been hassled twice by the police, both times I have said “Give me a ticket.” Both times the officer has walked away grumbling.
Supreme Court Decision
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/pub/1993/vol2/html/1993scr2_1084.htmlCity of Halifax Ordinance 19
http://www.halifax.ca/legislation/bylaws/halifax/ord019.htmlCity of Dartmouth S-800
http://www.halifax.ca/legislation/bylaws/dartmouth/d_s-800.html
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