Road sign clutter 'is blighting our Park'

It cited one B road within the park where there are 300 road signs in seven miles, equating to 45 signs per mile, and said that some rural areas look '˜more like a scrapyard than majestic green countryide'.

The CPRE is calling for companies and the Government to take action to tidy up the countryside.

It believes that '˜clutter audits' should be undertaken to help councils remove unecessary signs and road markings.

According to the charity, more than two-thirds of roadside signs in rural areas are completely pointless.

The RAC agrees and said that traffic calming and warning signs make it harder for motorists to see traffic lights and potential dangers.

A fifth of the UK's road accident deaths involve victims hitting signs, signposts, telegraph poles and lampposts.

The West Sussex Gazette carried out a spot check on a six-mile stretch of the A283 between Washington roundabout and Upper Beeding roundabout and found 135 signs along this rural route.

The route has been singled out in the past as an example of one of many roads with a profusion of signs.

Brown signs, once given sparingly for buildings of historial significance have also mushroomed within. the new National Park, pointing to a wide variety of commercial concerns.

In addition, signs advertising events or roadworks are often not taken down until many weeks afterwards.

The campaign group also says that painted lines along rural roads within the national park make them look like race tracks, while small villages and hamlets are now overwhelmed by traffic calming signs, bollards and humps.

n Leading article - page 8

n Do you think there are too many road signs in the National Park area and in the rest of the county? Send in your comments.

n by JEANNIE KNIGHT

[email protected]

Road sign clutter '˜is blighting our Park'