Local roads authorities were urged last week to consider the need for all street furniture, in a bid by ministers to ‘protect the splendour of Scotland’s landscapes’.
Fresh guidance from Transport Scotland, produced with the help of the Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland, aims to get councils to consider the visual impact of placing signs on country roads. While acknowledging the pressure for extra signage, particularly following accidents, the advice warns that ‘too much signage can encourage driver complacency’.
The cumulative impact of signs can be ‘confusing’ as well as ‘intrusive’. To combat this, councils should draw up a ‘road furniture vision’ for new or upgraded routes, or for roads through scenic spots popular with tourists.
This could include: policies to restrict or manage signage, including anything from a ‘presumption against’ any new signs, to policies on keeping them to a minimum size; using non-standard, sympathetic materials; or better positioning of them in relation to the landscape backdrop. While the importance of road safety is stressed, it is suggested that on minor roads, protecting landscape quality should be the most important aim.
The need for signs placed for a road safety purpose is questioned. Crossway warning signs can replicate the information on a directional sign, it is suggested, while even signs to highlight sharp bends may not be required. ‘Road markings and chevron boards might be sufficient to warn motorists.’
Angus Corby, landscape adviser at Transport Scotland, commented: ‘We would urge all those with an interest in Scotland’s road network to use this guidance. Scotland’s natural landscape attracts thousands of visitors every year, so it is important that we limit the number of items appearing on the roadside.’
Transport Scotland’s aim was cautiously welcomed by the road safety fraternity as Surveyor went to press. Andrew Fraser, accident unit manager for central Scotland, based at Stirling council, wished Transport Scotland luck. ‘The list keeps getting longer – tourist signs, ‘countdown’ signs, signs with yellow backing boards, idiotic variable messages, signs bearing platitudes, unreadable place name signs, swagger boards... you name it.
‘The document should help to revive interest in the aesthetics of the matter.’ That said, it was ‘unwise’ to abandon the principle of matching sign size to the speed of traffic, he said.