“I see mountains”: Małopolska moves to limit adverts between Krakow and Tatras

Polish roadside adverts
Polish roadside adverts

Anyone who has traveled between Krakow and Zakopane has undoubtedly had something come between them and their view of the mountains on those long and often crowded country roads: adverts, big and small, every color of the rainbow, for everything from electronics to discount dental services.

Now a project supported by the government of the Małopolska Voivodeship – to which Krakow belongs – aims to reduce what many view as clutter and eyesore on National Roads 7 (Zakopianka) and 47 on the way to the mountains. Montevideo (Spanish: “I see mountains”), as it is called, was presented at the important international Economic Forum in Krynica last week after extensive planning and discussion which began last year, Onet reports.

The efforts would be locally-driven, with the Małopolska government encouraging and empowering the communities that make up the region to set their own regulations on roadside advertising, which Marshal Jacek Krupa called “now virtually unlimited.” Architect and Senator from Krakow Janusz Sepioł laid out a blueprint which suggests banning adverts 200 meters from the road in rural areas and 50 meters in urban areas through which these roads pass. Fines for standard billboards violating the rules could be as high as 4,600 PLN per month.

The Montevideo project already has the support of 11 of the 13 communities traversed by the Zakopianka highway. New laws might go into effect as early as January 2018, with changes to the landscape being seen over the following two years.

Poland in general has struggled at times with how to regulate the content, placement, and aesthetics of advertising since the introduction of capitalism reforms in 1989 – a conversation, it seems, which is still continuing.

One thought on ““I see mountains”: Małopolska moves to limit adverts between Krakow and Tatras

  • September 8, 2017 at 2:58 pm
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    What about the stacks of cargo containers that I have seen sprouting up along that road? Surely a loophole in the making???

    Reply

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