Highway authorities will now be able to use certain traffic signs without the need for government approval, under proposals aimed at cutting red tape.
The Department for Transport (DfT) will be conducting a trial with the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea into the way that national road signs are used.
Last year, the council launched a trial project to allow cyclists to ride the wrong way down one-way streets. At the time, the DfT refused permission to use a ‘no entry except for cyclists’ sign, insisting on the use of sign 619, which depicts a motorbike above a car.
A spokesperson for the council told Surveyor that early monitoring of the sites suggested motorists had trouble understanding this sign. In one road alone, the number of cars travelling the wrong way down a one-way street doubled from 23 to 46 in one day.
The project will now see sign 619 replaced with the more universally recognised No Entry sign but with a supplementary plate beneath it that states ‘Except Cycles’.
‘We will now monitor the compliance with this sign while the trial continues and will report back on its progress to the department,’ said Cllr Nick Paget-Brown, cabinet member for transportation and highways.
These measures are the first to be announced as part of the DfT’s traffic signs review and should help councils avoid costly engineering projects such as dedicated cycle lanes.
Transport minister, Sadiq Khan, said: ‘The pilot contra-flow cycling system will help to reduce journey times for cyclists while allowing them to travel safely and legally on the most convenient routes.
‘If this pilot is successful then councils across the country could be offered the opportunity to use similar measures on their roads.’
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