Road markings and signs - various errors causing confusion, mirth and some concerns - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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Some of the yellow lines in Sea Lane, Old Hunstanton, are not as straight as drivers would expect

Wonky yellow lines painted on the roads of a coastal village have seen an attempt to improve parking problems take a strange turn.

The narrow lanes of Old Hunstanton often get clogged by parked vehicles as people head to the north-west Norfolk coast during the warmer months. That meant new regulations were brought in on 11 July, restricting parking on several roads between 08:00 and 18:00 over a five-month period. But Norfolk County Council said the new lines were below standard, and ordered remedial work as a "matter of urgency".

The meandering yellow lines, including on Sea Lane and Waterworks Road, are a mixture of double and single yellows. Some of them continue across the end of driveways and incorrectly merge into one another. They were painted on roads following a traffic regulation order (TRO^▸ (Trowbridge station)) that was approved by the county council and came into effect on 11 July.

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Some of the yellow lines in Old Hunstanton merge into one another

Tom de Winton is the Conservative West Norfolk borough councillor for Old Hunstanton and has been working alongside the village's parish council on the traffic issues in recent years. "We can all have a bit of a laugh about some wobbly yellow lines but the important thing is that our coastal villages do have a lot of traffic, particularly in the summer," he said. "Councillors in Old Hunstanton have tried very hard to get the TRO and have been under quite a lot of pressure. But also managing to get a TRO takes a hell of a lot of time to get done, so when a silly clot does a bad job then they need to be made to go and do it again."

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Some of the lines have been painted over the end of people's driveways

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: "Unfortunately the double yellow lines at Old Hunstanton have not been installed to Norfolk County Council's specification or standards. Accordingly, we have requested the contractor to undertake remedial works as a matter of urgency. Some of these works have already taken place but others will be carried out over the coming weeks once the surface has been prepared. All remedial works will be completed at no cost to Norfolk County Council."

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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August: The yellow box is gone but not forgotten

A yellow box junction which was hailed as the biggest in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) and Ireland has been removed from a County Londonderry town.

The 40m-long yellow markings in Maghera were painted in June, then reduced in size in July, and now have disappeared completely. However, a yellow box is expected to make a comeback in the autumn, when resurfacing work in the town is completed.

Mid Ulster Councillor Denise Johnston said she wants a meeting with the Department for Infrastructure over what she described as "a waste" of public money. Questions have been asked about the cost of the work, and why the lines were painted in June if resurfacing work was planned in August.

SDLP councillor Denise Johnston told BBC Radio Foyle: "It just doesn't make sense and it's not a good use of public money. I do get the importance of a yellow box - a yellow box will be necessary there - but … if you know you're going to resurface the road two or three months later, why would you do it?"  She said many people in Maghera had been left "bemused and confused".

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July: The beginning of the end

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI), which is in charge of roads in Northern Ireland, said the costs could not be released as they were "commercially sensitive".

Explaining the changes which have taken place, a DfI spokesperson said: "The department implemented the yellow box markings at this location to assist with the ease of Translink bus movements to and from the main bus stop on St Lurachs Road.

"The extent of the markings was reviewed following initial installation and subsequently reduced in length to improve traffic flow. The yellow box marking will be reinstated upon completion of the resurfacing on Hall Street."

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June: The yellow box in all its glory

Maghera, with its population of fewer than 5,000 people, was dubbed the "small town with the big yellow box" after the first appearance of the markings in June.

The extra-large box stretched along a busy junction frequently used by buses, lorries and cars. After complaints, the box was scaled back but it took a while as the distinctive yellow markings are not easily removed.

Public realm improvements have been taking place in the town for the past year. As well as installing new street furniture and widening footpaths, the project tried to tackle traffic flow issues.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Road markings painted in Basingstoke potholes days before repairs

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A team from Hampshire County Council painted markings on the road just days before it was repaired by the same council

A council has been accused of wasting money after painting road markings over potholes just days before they were repaired.

Hampshire County Council painted the 'School Keep Clear' markings on the damaged carriageway of Sullivan Road, near Chalk Ridge Primary School, in Basingstoke. Days later, another team from the council fixed the road - obliterating the work of the first group.

The council said repainting faded school markings is important for safety, but accepted the job should have been paused until after the repairs.

Liberal Democrat councillor Andrea Bowes, from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, said she was "gobsmacked" by the blunder. "It's such a ludicrous waste of money, almost to the point of being farcical," she said. "I was horrified to the point of laughter. It's a case where, if you don't laugh, you're going to cry."

Bowes said better communication within the council could have prevented the error. She continued: "This is different departments within the same council and they're obviously just not talking to each other. It doesn't take much - an email or a memo just saying 'we're going to be doing this on this day, is there anything we need to know?'."

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The council accepted that the re-lining should have taken place after the road was repaired

A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: "Recent weather conditions have caused road defects to appear more rapidly across the county, and in some cases, issues develop after works are scheduled but before they take place. Our highways team work hard to carefully coordinate and deliver hundreds of repairs every day, and we recognise that, ideally, the re-lining should have been paused to allow the repair to be completed first. However, re-painting fading road markings is important to reduce risks outside schools, so the crew proceeded as planned."

The council said it was now preparing to repaint the school markings on the road.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Repainting redundant road markings 'waste of cash'

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The Coln House School closed years ago and is being converted to housing - Image © Sandra Kolasinski

The partial repainting of "keep clear" road markings outside a now-closed Cotswold school has sparked concerns that public money is being wasted.

Sandra Kolasinski said she was amused last week to discover just the word "keep" had been painted in bright yellow after repairs to the road outside the former Coln House School in Horcott Road.

Kolasinski said while it made her laugh, the work was a waste of taxpayers money and the road markings now appear for "no apparent reason".

Councillor Mark Harris, from Gloucestershire County Council, said the utility company that carried out the work has now returned to black out the markings.

"The old Coln House School in Horcott Road, Fairford, has been closed for ages and is in the process of being converted into new housing," she said.

"Even though the rest of the markings can no longer be seen and it is no longer a school site, there is now the word 'keep' written on the road for no apparent reason.  Are the people who mark the roads not allowed to question why they are doing some?  What a waste of money!"

Stephen Andrews, a former Cotswold district councillor for the area, said it made no sense to repaint the signs on the road but the utility firm may have had to do it due to a technicality.  "The problem may well lie with the traffic regulation order, (which) ensured the school's presence was known, and has not been cancelled after its closure years ago," he said.

Harris, cabinet member for highways at the council, said the work was undertaken by a utilities company that had reinstated the road markings present after completing a project on the road.

"We work closely with all utility companies to ensure they reinstate the highways surface to its original condition following any works.  In this instance, the 'School Keep Clear' markings had been allowed to fade as they are now longer relevant. We have spoken with the utility company, and they have returned to the site to black out the markings," he added.

[Bob_Blakey]

I think this qualifies for inclusion:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39724143/council-paint-road-markings-over-dead-animals-horrifying-drivers/

[AMLAG]

No doubt not directly employed ‘Council’ roadmen but a CONtracted outfit.

At least they are repainting the white lines.
In much of Devon white lines at road junctions are worn out.
If you see a dead animal on the road consider ‘direct action’ by removing it to the hedge, as I did yesterday when I spotted a recently killed fox on a minor road.

[Marlburian]

Early this morning I drove 33 miles to Savernake Forest, walked, then returned to Reading via Marlborough - about 80 miles of driving.  I was surprised at the amount of roadkill- at least 15 corpses, mostly (apparently) of foxes, hares and rabbits, far more than I've seen before.

The Forest is privately owned but nearly all its paths and tracks are "permissive" - but closed on New Year's Day to forestall any claim that they become public because of continuity of use. It's managed by the Forestry Commission who've done a good job of putting gravel on some of the most popular ones, though I met one local who'd known the Forest "for 75 years" who bemoaned the main route -  the Grand Avenue - having been widened, presumably to allow cars to pass each other.

BTW^▸ ('by the way') the locality is a transport enthusiast's dream, with some of the Forest roads showing remnants of tarred surfaces, presumably relating to when the Forest stored ammunition in WWII^▸ (World War 2 - 1939 to 1945), the Kennet & Avon Canal (including the Bruce Tunnel and Crofton Beam Engine), the sites of Savernake's two railway stations and of where the Midland & South Western Junction Railway crossed the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and connected with it.

[Bob_Blakey]

My experience of roadkill whilst out cycling varies depending on the location; within the urban Exeter area the vast majority of victims are gulls - I don't regard this as a problem - and it is not uncommon to see two corpses together presumably because the gulls were concentrating on fighting over their share of whatever foodstuff was on offer rather than the vehicles heading in their direction.

On the road route (not the Exe Estuary Trail) between Exeter & Dawlish the majority of victims are grey squirrels, in East Devon it appears that the badger population is being progressively culled, and the occasional deceased rabbit or fox pops up in all areas.

Perhaps there should be national reporting so we can learn to what extent our wildlife is being decimated.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Lydney Mayor had to check road misspellings 'were not AI'

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Tasha Saunders, mayor of Lydney, said she believes the spelling on Templeway West was originally correct - Image © Submitted

A mayor says she had to make sure misspelt road markings "were not AI" after errors were painted next to electric vehicle bays in two Forest of Dean towns.

Tasha Saunders, mayor of Lydney in Gloucestershire, said she asked a member of staff on their way to work to check whether the "electirc vehicles" marking on Templeway West was genuine on Thursday.

The mishap came days after Ray Donaghue, who represents Cinderford at Gloucestershire County Council, said he was left laughing after noticing "electric vehicels only" markings had popped up on Station Street in his town.

Both errors have now been rectified, which the county council said came at no cost to it as contractors were responsible.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Donaghue, a Reform UK^▸ (United Kingdom) councillor, said he reported the issue on Monday, adding: "It's one of those things and it's made us laugh.  "I've seen a 'Worchester' sign and 'no parkeng' before but I think 'electric vehicels only' is a new one.  It made me think of the 'no regerts' tattoo phenomenon."

Donaghue said the contractors "sparked into action and were out like a flash" on Tuesday morning to repaint the markings.

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The misspelling in Cinderford (pictured) differed from the error in Lydney - Image © Submitted

Mark Harris, cabinet member for highways at Gloucestershire County Councillor, thanked Donaghue for making the mistake known.

"As soon as the error was realised, we contacted our contractors who fixed the issue on Tuesday morning."  But, on Thursday morning, Saunders said a resident made her aware of a similar mistake in Lydney, which she believed had not been there before.

"I believe they were done earlier in the week and, from what I can gather, they were originally correct," she said.  "It seems when the Cinderford mistake became apparent and they fixed that one, they must have come out to Lydney and altered the spelling there but actually made it wrong."

Saunders said she contacted the highways team at 08:30 BST, and by 10:00, contractors were working to return the markings to their original state.  "I must say it did make me laugh in the grand scheme of things," she said.  "Some things you just can't write, can you? Literally."

[Chris from Nailsea]

Another item, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Confusion over 'quadruple yellow lines' on street

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Residents said the lines look "rubbish" and are a "complete mess" - Image © BBC/Seb Cheer

A council has committed to repainting the road surface of a street after a bungled job left "quadruple" yellow lines visible.

A small section of pothole-covered Markham Crescent in York was resurfaced this week by maintenance crews who also painted double lines on the new surface.  However, just days later another group of council contractors arrived and repainted a longer stretch of yellow lines in a much lighter shade.

Fenella McCarthy, a resident of 20 years, said: "They didn't start where the other lines had finished so we've just got this hotch-potch of lines there and it just seems a lack of co-ordination, a lack of thinking and no common sense."

City of York Council said the lines would be repainted as they did not meet the authority's "high standards".

McCarthy said the lines were "a complete mess" and could confuse visitors to a nearby guesthouse.  "It just seems a complete waste of resources," she added.  "The resurfaced patch is not the only bit with potholes. If you're going to cut the street off and bring all these lorries in, why not do the whole street?"

Robin Dickson lives around the corner on Haxby Road, but Markham Crescent is one of the zones where he can park with a resident's permit.  "It just seems totally ludicrous and disorganised," he said. "To actually turn up, see there are already lines there, and then just go ahead without a thought or check, paint another set anyway is plain bonkers."  He said some patches of road were repaired in the next street along, Markham Street, six months ago and were "still awaiting their yellow lines repainting".

Another family had their car moved by a contractor during the resurfacing, as they were on holiday and were only given one day's notice about the work.

A spokesperson for City of York Council said the work "clearly hasn't been completed to our high standards, something our external contractor accepts.  It has confirmed the work will be redone by the end of this weekend at the latest, after which it will be inspected by our highways team."

In my personal opinion, bearing in mind just how many such examples of bungling / lack of common sense / sheer incompetence have been demonstrated in the course of this topic, any such contractors should be disbarred from bidding for any future Council contract.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[bobm]

Meanwhile, as usual, Swindon bucks the trend it seems with complaints about faded road markings.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/26442360.swindon-roundabouts-faded-road-markings-spark-safety-fears/

Frustration is mounting among Swindon drivers as faded and missing road markings at several roundabouts raise safety concerns, confusion and reports of near-misses.

Photos show mini-roundabouts on Dorcan Way, Covingham Drive and Merlin Way, with faded paint, and the circle in the middle and arrows on the outside lacking visibility.

Story continues in the link