Councils are being urged to remove unnecessary street furniture and signs in order to make urban streets more accessible and safer for motorists and pedestrians.
The Department of Transport is advising local policy makers to reduce the number of signs and other ‘street clutter’ such as railings, advertising hoardings and painted lines.
The government believes that traffic signs and railings are being installed by councils in the mistaken belief that they are legally required.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles and transport secretary Philip Hammond are concerned the character of the country’s urban spaces is being damaged.
Hammond said: "We all know that some signs are necessary to make our roads safe and help traffic flow freely. But unnecessary street furniture is a waste of taxpayers' money and leaves our streets looking more like scrap yards than public spaces.
"We have written to councils to remind them that it need not be this way – we don't need all this clutter confusing motorists, obstructing pedestrians and hindering those with disabilities who are trying to navigate our streets.
The government is also concerned that too many signs compromise safety as important warning signs have less of an impact when surrounded by other street furniture.
Tony Burton, the director of Civic Voice, claimed that after street clutter was removed from Kensington High Street accidents have been reduced by 47 per cent.Ministers want communities to inform local authorities of particularly bad examples of clutter.
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Re: Councils told to clean up streets
'Fraid not and a quick google didn't come up with anything.
I've seen it in Odiaxere which is in the Algarve nr Lagos. In fact, I'll be there in October. I could always take a picture!
Re: Councils told to clean up streets
Re: Councils told to clean up streets
I would too but average speed cameras are too expensive and too difficult to implement in many estates where humps are present.
The flashing speed signs are daft too. Not in respect of whether they work or not (I have no idea but doubt they do) but in regards to their price: crica £10k per sign!
I've seen a great way of slowing people down in Portugal. On the approach to some towns from a fast A or B road, there is a speed detector that monitors the speed of approaching cars. Go too fast and the traffic light not long after the speed reduction sign turns to red. Stick at the town speed limit, it'll stay at green. You have to stay slow for some distance in order for it not to go red.
And it works. Really well. People ignore speed limits daily. Very very few people drive straight through red lights, regardless of how pointless they appear.
Reducing the excess in information at the road side is a great move. We need to spend less time telling each other what to do all the time.