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.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: Councils told to clean up streets
from a googled website:
" when it comes to getting places they tend to pretty foolish – racing from red light to red light for example. This is especially annoying on roads with electronic speed sensors which turn the traffic light red if you are going faster than the speed limit, even more so when you have drivers who not only set off the red lights but charge right through them!"
and from another:
"There are two problems I have found with these in Spain & Portugal.
The first is that you approach the lights under the speed limit, but the car behind you doesn't, and the lights change before you get there.
The second is that a fair number of the locals just drive through the red lights, so unless you put a red light camera on them... "
seems like they can get ignored, probably by a sense of injustice and by that they are not directly safety related ie. they dont prevent a collision like normal red lights do.
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
that's a good idea possibly.
any solution that doesn't involve seriously wearing out or damaging car suspension.
it's scientific fact that more children die in india making replacement suspension springs and dampers in factories than children hit by cars in residential areas. there is no real evidence for that, but it is scientific fact.