Reducing sign clutter

At last the forests of bewildering road signs that are cluttering our cities and beautiful countryside are being scrapped and plans introduced will prevent the erection of any new unnecessary and confusing signs.

A new Government guidance document for council and highway authorities, Reducing sign clutter, has been issued by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. Mr McLoughlin said “There are too many unnecessary signs blotting the landscapes of our towns and cities. That is why I have published new guidance, to help encourage local authorities to make old, confusing and ugly signs a thing of the past.”

It seems that common sense is to prevail; many signs are not only unnecessary, they can be a dangerous distraction to motorists, they are also expensive to maintain and illuminate so removing this clutter will save energy and money. More than 9,000 signs are to be removed from our roads, the majority will be in London but all areas of the UK are encouraged to do their bit to get rid of any pointless and confusing road signs. Mr McLoughlin had words of praise for the efforts of some councils and asked others to follow their example “I want to congratulate London, Hampshire and Somerset councils for leading the way and getting rid of sign clutter.

“They are a fantastic example and I urge other councils to think about where traffic signs are placed and whether they are needed at all.”
This is welcome news indeed and we look forward to seeing road signs that are necessary, clear and concise used throughout the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-sign-clutter