Taxi Driver Online

January 26, 2008 Saturday

Drivers on a road to nowhere

VISITORS to Basildon beware. Driving around the town without a sat nav could send you around in circles because so many road signs are poorly maintained.

Motorists have now made a hitlist of the worst maintained signs in Basildon, which the Echo has passed on to Essex County Council, along with their demands for them to be repaired right away.

Many of the signs have had all their paint washed away, so it is no longer possible for drivers to read what they are supposed to be warning drivers about.

Several shocking examples are in streets backing on to Basildon rail station.

Almost all the paint has worn off no entry signs, which are supposed to warn drivers not to turn from Station Way into Cherrydown West, and from Station Way into the Trafford Bowl car park, outside Trafford House. They are now virtually unreadable.

Another beleaguered no entry sign is supposed to stop traffic turning from Station Way into Cherrydown East.

A sign at the entrance to Cherrydown West car park is so tired and faded, there is no way of knowing what it once stated.

Basildon taxi driver Ralph Morgan, 63, said: "A lot of these signs are impossible to understand and it's going to cause accidents.

"They're terrible across town. If they're not worn out, they're covered in graffiti, dirt, or slime, so you can't read them.

"I can remember the days when a man used to be employed to wipe all the signs clean, but no-one seems to do that anymore."

Mr Morgan claims to have complained to the county council three times in the last three months, about the no entry signs around the Trafford Bowl car park, but no action has been taken.

Driver Mark Williams, 45, of Parsonage Lane, Laindon, said: "A lot of Basildon's signs are faded. They look washed out and are difficult to understand.

"It's alright for local people who know the layout of the roads, but it's dangerous for people from out of town."

Basildon Labour MP Angela Smith agreed to raise the worst cases with the county council, which is responsible for maintaining Basildon's signs.

She said: "This is a public safety issue, so it is something they need to deal with quickly.

"Signs are relatively cheap to repair, so this isn't something they should delay on."

Norman Hume, cabinet member responsible for highways and transportation at Essex County Council, agreed to check all the signs highlighted in the Echo investigation.

He said: "We understand drivers are concerned about the condition of road signs and our road network is regularly inspected, with the quality and visibility of signs checked.

"Where a safety sign is not clearly visible, urgent action is taken, otherwise the signs are put into a programme for maintenance funding.

"We will be happy to work through the list provided by the Echo and carry out appropriate action."

Call the Echo if you want to report more misleading or unreadable signs on 01268 469308, or e-mail Paul Offord.
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