ukiprule

Tear down 'European' signposts in Sandbach - Crewe Chronicle




TEAR DOWN ‘EUROPEAN’ SIGNPOSTS

NEW signs in Sandbach could be pulled down because they give distances in kilometres instead of miles.

They have sparked protests from some residents who claim they want their signs in “traditional miles not foreign kilometres” and a UKIP spokesman has claimed it is an attempt “to Europeanise us”.

The new town centre fingerposts, which were installed by the Sandbach Partnership, give the distance to the council offices as 0.5 km and the town’s railway station as 2 km.

One resident unhappy about them is former Sandbach councillor John Moore.

“I think they should be in miles and if they had done their research before they had them made they would have found that out,” said Mr Moore, of Heath Road.

Another resident, Janette Rathbone, of Townfields, added: “It’s no good to me. Things like that don’t mean anything. We want straightforward miles.”

UKIP prospective parliamentary candidate Alan Johnson, who lives in Middlewich, is highly critical of the signs.

Mr Johnson, who is PPC for the Eddisbury constituency, said: “It’s just another sneaky way of Europeanising us. They’re trying to present us with a fait accompli and they should take them down.”

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “It is the responsibility of the local highway authority to place traffic signs that are lawful. The traffic signs regulations do not include provision for metric units of measurement for distance to be used on traffic signs.”

But Sandbach Partnership chairman Dot Flint said: “They’re pedestrian signs not road traffic signs,” adding drivers would need very good eyesight to read them because of the size and positioning.

She said there were other areas in the country where fingerposts had distances measured in kilometres and not miles.

Sandbach councillor Les Morris said the complaints had prompted him to seek advice from Cheshire County Council about the legality of the signs.

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g hall

They are illegal (and I know from fact as I wrote to our local district council pointing out that some new signs they had installed where in metric not imperial and they have changed them)

See here

BWMA/Transport - Roads

write to them and suggest that they change them

__________________
"That government is best which governs least."
"This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries".
"To be "matter of fact" about the world is to blunder into fantasy --and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful."
TANSTAAFL TANJ

SponPlague

Former UKIPper Tony Bennt is notorius for "repainting" his signage in legally correct distances, in his area. he's a list area, and may well comment here at some point...

Bob FM

But Sandbach Partnership chairman Dot Flint said: “They’re pedestrian signs not road traffic signs,” adding drivers would need very good eyesight to read them because of the size and positioning. Typical civil servant justification. The fact that the walkers won't understand them either I suppose if neither here nor there. Aside from that Ms Flint, the legal measure of distance in the UK for roads/pavements is feet, inches, yards and miles.

Bob FM

I came across this makes interesting reading:

i. For a number of years, a large number of county councils have been using metres in place of yards on road and pedestrian signs, for example, "Speed Humps 20m", or "Tourist Information 150m".

ii. New signs along main roads have been appearing at odd distances of 110yds, 220yds, 1/3 mile, 2/3 mile, etc. The purpose of these locations is revealed when they are translated into their metric equivalents: l00m, 200m, 500m and 1km. Obviously, placing posts into the ground at these points facilitates future metric conversion since only the signs attached to the posts need be changed.

iii. White distance-marker posts along motorways (usually marked with an arrow to indicate the nearest telephone) are placed not at intervals of 100 yards but 100 metres. The DETR says this is to "assist maintenance crews to locate their exact position".

iv. Government computer systems designed to record road traffic information are from now on to use three digit fields for vehicle speeds. According to an internal government document, "... three boxes have been provided to allow for eventual metrication".

METRIC IS ILLEGAL!
It is quite apparent that the use of metres on road and pedestrian signs and the positioning of yard/mile signs at metric intervals is to provide a bridgehead for future governments that wish to replace the mile with the kilometre. Nevertheless, there are legal obstacles to metrication that make the current use of metric on signs entirely illegal.

The 1994 Traffic Signs Regulations state :

* It is not lawful to use signs that show distances in metres or kilometres. This applies to both road traffic signs and pavement signs for pedestrians (although not to signs on private land).

* Signs giving restrictions on traffic width, length and weight must be in imperial units. Metric signs may only be used in addition to, and not in place of, signs marked in traditional units. Even dual imperial-metric signs are not permitted.

* Dual-marked signs are legal only for height restriction signs. Imperial-only signs are also legal for height signs but metric-only signs are not.

There is no direct evidence so show that central government is directing councils to break the law by putting up metric signs, but it is quite possible that local authorities have "activated" metric signage in error, and that central government is turning a blind eye since it is not contrary to their long-term aim.

Barboo

What is the source for this, please?

Bob FM

To be honest I can't remember I put in 'should UK road signs be in imperial or metric I think into google. I meant to go back and get the URL but forgot.

SponPlague

Try THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST KILOMETRE K-DAY

Bob FM

Thanks, yep that's the one.

Barboo

Thanks. I gather it's from the excellent British Weights & Measures Association, via 'Sovereignty'.