GUADALAJARA - Have you ever driven from the Guadalajara airport into downtown and been struck by the hideous size and presence of the billboards that you pass?

A Brazilian expert was in the city last week to assert that with a little public pressure and local government support, dismantling the monstrosities could be accomplished within just three months.

With the 2011 Pan American Games in mind, the mayors of both Guadalajara and Zapopan have declared their intention to create a metropolitan ruling that at least regulates the positioning of the billboards.

“I don’t think the billboards help in terms of urban image. In principle, I would be inclined to have them taken down, at least those with huge lettering that are hanging from buildings,” Zapopan Mayor Juan Sanchez Aldana said this week.

The inspiration to remove the large adverts came from a visit by Sao Paulo environment and urban landscaping director Regina Monteiro. She was in charge of improving the image of Sao Paulo for the 2007 Pan American Games.

In a presentation to Guadalajara city planners, Monteiro bemoaned the “over-aggressiveness” of the city’s huge billboards. She then laid out a blueprint as to how to get them removed.

“With organization and pressure, the environment can be changed. We were determined to do it, and in the end got 15,000 billboards taken down in Sao Paulo.”