A Tauranga roundabout has sparked ‘tongue in cheek' from a resident who says its nine warning signs are a Tauranga City Council 'overkill”.
Bethlehem resident David Flatt was driving home from the Avenue 14 Medical Centre when he noticed the 'unusually high” number of signs signalling the new roundabout behind Tauranga Boys' College.
The 13th Avenue roundabout behind Tauranga Boys' College with its numerous signs. Photo by Bruce Barnard.
The roundabout, installed about six months ago by TCC, currently has nine signs warning motorists of its presence.
'I just came through the roundabout and noticed on each of the four corners you have two signs, plus another one. It's just overkill,” says David.
'Do we need that many signs on a relatively minor road to tell you that you have got a roundabout and it's brand new?”
Viewing the issue as a bit of tongue in cheek, David says it isn't overly concerning, but questions how much each of the signs cost.
Along with the nine signs, another four signs stand near 11th Avenue for an already existing roundabout.
'We have sign city, we have signs everywhere – signs telling us we have signs,” says David.
'I'm not averse to having them. You become aware as you drive around the city.”
TCC city transportation manager Martin Parkes says the allocated number is justified because it meets the standards set out in the Traffic Signs Manual.
'What we tend to do when we put a new facility in is put the required number of signs and regulations in there and then we monitor it for 12-18 months, and if there aren't any incidents we will rationalise the signs.
'We just need to ensure people can see it quite clearly when they approach.”
There are currently about 12,600 traffic signs around Tauranga City.
After 12 months council review the roundabout as part of the city-wide review of crash sites and decide whether to reduce the number of signs.
Martin says the signs cost between $200-$300, including GST, but they are reused after being taken out of circulation.
'What we do if we remove them is we put them into storage and then use them later, so it's not wasting resources.”
15 comments
Traffic Sign Manual
Posted on 18-06-2013 11:40 | By YOGI BEAR
Says that if you have to many signs then you can not see the roundabout? Like does that like defeat the purpose of the signs in the first place?
Agree - but...
Posted on 18-06-2013 12:13 | By nzsister
I agree that there appears to be an overkill on warning signs but that intersection is notorious for little old ladies swanning through the old intersection without looking or boy racers ignoring it at speed, that something needs to SHOUT at them with a warning.
Money in Signs
Posted on 18-06-2013 12:16 | By banana choc chip muffins
Must be money left in the budget as TCC are now labelling footpaths along Harbour drive with no cyclist signs every 100 metres. Necessary??? End of financial year, easy thing to throw some rates at I guess!
Typical TCC
Posted on 18-06-2013 12:55 | By The Master
To many signs to many staff, to much salaries, to little to do so more signs and a bit of musical chairs keeps the muffin brained outfit occupied I guess?
Circular argument?
Posted on 18-06-2013 14:25 | By penguin
Can't see the woods for the trees....(can't see the roundabout for the signs!) Just looking at the signs is enough to make your head spin. The big roundabout on SH29/Oropi didn't have this many signs and it is on a major highway. Maybe the little roundabout had to feel important...
All For Roundabouts
Posted on 18-06-2013 15:11 | By Jitter
Roundabouts are an excellent way of controlling busy crossroads and speeding up traffic flow but TCC seem to be obsessed about putting them in everywhere which in theory is good whether they are needed or not. Then TCC stuff things up by filling the roundabouts up with signs and/or shrubs and boulders which means - (a) You cannot see if there is traffic coming directly towards you as they are partly or fully obscured by the signs/shrubs/rocks (b) If you can see traffic coming towards you their indicators are obscured so you have no idea what the driver approaching intends to do so you stop and wait and so does the flow of traffic.
Both of these problems completely cancel out the efficient use of roundabouts. TCC - get rid of all the unneccessary signage/shrubs/boulders on all roundabouts so that traffic is able to use them efficiently. Keep roundabouts purely for what they were intended not as a base for a shrubbery or an excercise in useless landscaping.
.
Posted on 18-06-2013 15:27 | By whatsinaname
no wonder there are so many accidents on that corner. signs obstructing road. to busy reading signs and not taking notice of road and traffice. why was a round about put in there in the first place
Everywhere a Sign
Posted on 18-06-2013 20:34 | By Jock
Sign, Sign, everywhere a sign Blockin' out the scenery, Breakin' my mind Do this don't do that, Can't you read the sign Seems this is where we're at today however after 40 years of using that intersection, I have to say this is the best it's been and that has to be a plus!
Blind drivers.
Posted on 18-06-2013 20:43 | By dgk
It's a pity some drivers need all those warning signs before they realise what is in front of them.
Need Glasses
Posted on 18-06-2013 21:27 | By adyhutch
If you cant see a roundabout coming up then you ..."should have gone to Specsavers"! Having all these signs wont help those little old ladies. Have you not noticed that they either look straight on or to the left when coming up to one! If i had a dollar for each time i have been almost taken out by one i could probably pay the council signage bill myself!
Signage
Posted on 19-06-2013 10:26 | By YOGI BEAR
overkill just like TCC itself, the round about would surely amount to a hazard with all the distractions from all the signs, like the reverse effect, spend all ya time looking at signs ... is there something I should know then miss the corner. All TCC fault, does anyone actually 'look' at what they do?
Spinning
Posted on 19-06-2013 11:33 | By morepork
The most pertinent thing about this is the obstruction of view. After living in the UK for a number of years (where roundabouts provide a useful alternative to traffic lights in many places) I don't remember ever seeing a roundabout with shrubbery and trees (or excessive signage). They tend to be gravelled and tidy but with nothing obstructing the view. Maybe Council is spinning this (although I don't see why they would), maybe they are just trying to be sure that people know the roundabout is there. Lewis Carroll once wrote "What I tell you three times, is true." [The Hunting of the Snark]. Maybe three signs would be enough?
@nzsister - Old ladies?
Posted on 19-06-2013 16:25 | By maildrop
Nearly all old ladies I see approaching roundabouts stop for no reason whatsover. We need a sign telling them to PROCEED IF NOTHING IS ENTERING THE ROUNDABOUT ON YOUR RIGHT. It drives me crazy when folk stop for invisible cars. No wonder traffic backs up at Bayfair despite having two lanes.
It's a sign ...
Posted on 20-06-2013 06:59 | By Murray.Guy
I firmly believe 'it's a sign' of too much money on the part of the City Council staff and the NZTA staff, money they force off ratepayers and taxpayers - with an accompanying lack of common-sense and accountability. The proliferation of 'so-called' safety initiatives is likely preceded only by googling the lastest design experiments in some obscure city or village. It's a 'sign of the times'!
Yeah Murray
Posted on 20-06-2013 20:07 | By Plonker
Would think that they would put a couple up and keep a bit of an eye on it, if any problems then add more if needed. But of course the old saying about "If it works don't fix it" just does not apply at TCC, it is more like the theory of wanting to completely overkill the thing and paying a fortune to do it, everyone else's money to pay for it.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.