CONFERENCE 2011 BPA
‘We must be careful about putting an additional
cost on business or motorist,’ said Hayes. ‘We can only raise charges if we have a high burden of proof that it is justifi ed in transport not fi nancial terms.’
Story 2 The year of the sign
It is all change for traffi c signage, said Simon Morgan of Buchanan Computing. He explained that the fi rst of the promised 2011 amendments came into force in May 2011, but only one new sign was actually introduced as part of that initial package. Stage two is expected in November and, as hoped,
much of the review concentrates upon simplifying signage for the benefi t of the motorist and reducing signs as much as possible. In many instances, where there have been both vertical signs and painted signs on the road giving the same message, one of these modes of communication will disappear. T e Park Mark Scheme white tick will offi cially
replace the, now defunct, ‘Secured’ sign. Any signs saying ‘Nearly full’ will be replaced with signs indicating the exact number of spaces available. Other changes include replacing the ‘T’ for tonnes
with ‘t’ and it is recommended that signs indicating weight restrictions are either metric and imperial or solely metric.
From June, all authorities were permitted to use a 20mph sign instead of installing the more costly physical calming features
Morgan explained that on roads with a low volume of traffi c there would be no road markings, merely a sign at the start of the road outlining traffi c regulations. If the road was long then there may be a repeater sign further along. Equally, there would be no road marking in conservation areas or on cobbled streets. A road designated a low usage road but with
diff erent restrictions on each side would just have vertical signs to show this. A new suite of signs meeting the demands of the 21st century include signs for places with electric charging points and car club parking areas. Increased use of sat-nav systems
has led to a need for new signs alerting lorry drivers to the fact a road is unsuitable for large vehicles. T is is due to a rise in the number of lorries getting stuck in narrow lanes after sat-nav has guided them there to avoid queuing traffi c.
www.britishparking.co.uk
Spoilt for choice… delegates were able to choose from a wide-range of presentations
Two changes have already occurred with very
little consultation, perhaps signalling how the government will proceed in the future. In February 2011, all local authorities received authorisation to ban parking on verges and, from June, all authorities were permitted to use a 20mph sign instead of installing the more costly physical calming features. Morgan said the review is being hailed as the
most signifi cant policy review of traffi c signs for 40 years. T e aim is to lower the cost of signage, make it relevant to the times and to hand much of the decision making to the local authorities. T e danger, said Morgan, is that in making the
wording on signs simplifi ed, they may end up being ambiguous.
Story 3 Sensory overload
At any moment in time, between 18 to 45 per cent of motorists are circling the streets in the world’s largest cities looking for a place to park. T e cost of this in terms of money, time and carbon emission is huge. It is estimated that the average UK motorist spends six days of their lives looking for a parking space. T is is why the ideas outlined by David Peach of
T e Parking Shop are so compelling. One such solution is an accurate, real time
vehicle guidance system, which identifi es spaces that are free. T ese are available on the market and are slowly being taken up. In some off -street car parks, more advanced technology is used to guide motorists to spaces via LED lighting. T e next step, said Peach, is to develop a dynamic
Alastair Cooper
system that can be used to control traffi c movement, both on- and off -street. T rough technology it should be possible to keep traffi c fl owing to spaces that are free and send enforcement offi cers to spaces that are occupied but not paid for.
OCTOBER 2011 25
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