Let me tell you a tale of two signs. Two ordinary road signs.
One thing that always bugs me is inconsistency. As a colleague once said the hardest thing about consistency is being consistent. So when I see councils being inconsistent in does grate. Where a policy is applied one way in one situation and the same policy is applied differently in another situation. This can apply often in planning – two planning officers in the same council, with the same planning policies and planning law, can interpret planning applications completely differently. On a human level for residents, this can be baffling, frustrating and unfair. It shouldn’t be that way.
For example, take two pairs of ordinary road signs. One in Queens Head. One in Babbinswood. Both are national speed limit signs. Can you spot the difference?
Berg Hill Lane, Babbinswood
Photo shows the southern sign – viewed from the Junction. These need moving 200m along Berghill Lane to protect the houses from excessive speed
David Walker is seen raising the issue of this pair of signs in 2017 and residents concern over excessive speed outside their houses.
Nine houses on Berghill Lane have access points onto Berghill Lane – all in a national speed limit area. Berghill Lane is a rat run to avoid Whittington. Residents have complained about speeding. The easy solution is to properly site the signs and move them from the junction (See photo and yellow pin) to the end of the houses (green pin). The green pin is where they should be. Contrast and compare the location of these signs to the signs in Babbinswood below:
Twyford Lane, Queens Head
The Green pin above shows the national speed limit signs are located on Twyford Lane, Queens Head.
This is how things should be. All houses in a residential zone are protected by the lower speed limit.
Solution for Babbinswood
It is quite simple really. Shropshire Council needs to pull its finger out and move the signs in Babbinswood so that all residents on Berghill Lane get the correct speed limit and gain the residential amenity they are entitled to and that most people enjoy. Shropshire Council may well complain about the slow process of Traffic Regulation Orders and backlogs but that just isn’t good enough. This is a clear case of double standards and you need to get it sorted.
Tip for Shropshire Council: Two bags of Postcrete cost less than £10 https://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Ready-To-Use-Postcrete—20kg/p/221100 The labour to dig up the existing signs and move them 200m is not colossal either.