Lib Dems say "Stop relying on members of the public to report missing or damaged signs"
Liberal Democrat Councillors on Surrey County Council are calling for an end to the council relying on members of the public to report missing or damaged road signs and instead are calling for a sign inspection policy to be developed and implemented.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council said today:
"Surrey's roads are littered with posts with no signs and damaged signs. Not only does it look untidy, but it also means that motorists are not getting the benefit of information from signs warning of hazards such as bends or low bridges, informing them of speed limits or directions to towns or places. These signs are either necessary to make Surrey's roads safer in which case they should be replaced or if they are redundant, they should be removed.
"It has recently come to light at a Coroner's Inquest that the County Council has no road sign inspection policy, unlike other county councils such as East and West Sussex, and Buckinghamshire. Instead, Surrey County Council relies upon members of the public to report missing or damaged road signs, so it is hardly surprising that the "system" is not working.
"The County Council needs to develop and implement a road sign inspection policy so that it has an accurate record of road signs which should be in place and through regular inspections by council officers, identify which are missing or damaged. This would mean that vital road signs which are necessary for road safety can be and are replaced. Alternatively if the County Council is expecting members of the public to notify it of missing and damaged road signs, it should provide an interactive map showing which road signs should be in place to enable them to more effectively perform their role.
"Urgent action is needed by the County Council to bring their road sign management up to the standards of other councils."
NOTES
Images of signs in Surrey that have not been replaced can be found here:
www.flickr.com/photos/146827888@N06/albums/72157689202206841
Cllr Watson's motion to Council can be found here at Item 8(iii):
mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx
Sign Inspection policies from other councils can be found here - East Sussex (Pages 4-7), West Sussex (p5) and Bucks (p1-2, 8):