trunk road and motorway tourist signposting policy and guidance the new trunk road policy barry...
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Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signposting Policy and Guidance
The New Trunk Road Policy
BARRY ASPINALL
TRANSPORT SCOTLAND
The New Policy
• Reason for Review
• Review Procedure
• Key Changes
Reason for Review
• Old policy from 1992 and 1998
• New Traffic Signs Regulations in 2002
• English Policy and Guidance 2004
• General Inconsistency in the application of old Policy
The Policy Review
TRL were commissioned in August 2003 to review the old Policy
Initial consultation in September 2003• Letters sent to around 100
stakeholders• Around 30 responses• Key Issues identified
Workshops – January 2004
Day 1 – Tourist facility operators, Enterprise Companies
Day 2 – Area Tourist Boards, motoring organisations, Scottish Executive, Transport Scotland
Day 3 – Local authorities, trunk road managing contractors
40 representatives attended
Workshops –Issues Identified Symbols
• No consensus• Preference for ‘Thistle’ retained
Distance criteria• Need more local flexibility• Need to avoid proliferation
Visitor numbers• Need to retain but be more
flexible• Need to accept ‘seasonality’
Workshops –Issues Identified Retail Outlets
• Inconsistency between motorways and other roads
• ‘Tourist shops’ only
Quality Assurance requirements• Need more flexibility• Need to recognise other QA
schemes
Application Procedure• Too complex and too many
organisations• Need a ‘one stop shop’
Draft Policy Consultation
Draft Policy was published as a Consultation Paper on the Scottish Executive website in November 2005 and sent for comment to Tourist facility operators Enterprise Companies Area Tourist Boards Motoring organisations Scottish Executive Transport Scotland Local authorities Trunk road managing contractors
New Policy Published
Policy published on 9 October 2006 with electronic copies available on Transport Scotland web site.
Main Changes
Definition of Tourist Destination was brought into line with TSRGD 2002, which states that
A Tourist Destination is a permanently established attraction or facility which:
(a) attracts or is used by visitors to an area; and (b) is open to the public without prior booking
during its normal opening hours; and
(c) is recognised by VisitScotland
Main Changes
Home Traffic Authority (HTA)
• Applicants have now a single point of contact• HTA co-ordinates assessment with other
authorities.• The HTA is the road authority of the road
immediately accessed from the tourist destination.
• The HTA does not decide whether signs are approved in other authority areas.
Main Changes
Retail outlets can now be signed from motorways• Tourist (brown) signs only when accredited as a
‘tourist shop’ and meeting all other criteria• Standard direction signs used where required for
traffic management reasons
Main Changes
Visitor Number Criteria• Still required on motorways only• 50,000 visitors per year• Seasonality measure (10,000 visitors in peak
month)• Projected visitor numbers now allowed• Relaxations for historic or cultural attractions
Main Changes
Tourist Signs on Urban Motorways• Difficult to locate signs on
urban motorways• No new tourist signs unless a
significant case for them• Take account of visitor
numbers, visitors from outside area, access arrangements
• Eligible attractions expected to receive several hundred thousand visitors per year
Main Changes
Environmental Impact• New requirements for additional
consultation in certain areas• National Parks, National Scenic Area,
Geoparks, Areas of Great Landscape Value, conservation areas.
• Further guidance in ‘Road Furniture in the Countryside’
Main Changes
Signs to accommodation• B&B and hotels can now be signed from
all-purpose trunk roads (if local policy allows)
• Normally only if attraction is within 6 miles of trunk road
• ‘Thistle’ symbol should be used
Symbols Destinations accredited by VisitScotland
use ‘Thistle’ symbol ‘Thistle’ symbol may be supplemented or
replaced in certain circumstances
Local Facilities Signs
Facilities signs are not tourist signs• Destinations do not need to be
recognised by VisitScotland
Diagrams 2328 and 2329• Alternative to Local Facilities Signs• To direct visitors to small towns/villages
not on main through route• Destinations must meet basic tourist
criteria• ‘Thistle’ symbol not necessary• Not permitted on motorways
Collective signing
Guidance is given on the use signing towns with several attractions
Diagram 2215 for all-purpose roads Diagram 2927 for motorways
National Tourist Routes
Guidance is given on signs for• National tourist routes and
tourist trails
• National Parks and Geoparks
• Other geographic areas
• Boundary signs need special authorisation
Sign Design Guidance
Destination Legends• Lengthy destination legends to be avoided• May need shortened• Max 4 words on single destination sign• Max 2 lines describing single destination• Max 8 lines on any sign
X-heights• Use LTN 1/94 guidance at all times• X-heights for all destinations on a sign must be
the same
Financial Arrangements
On trunk roads and motorways all tourist signing is provided at the expense of the applicant.
This cost includes the design, manufacture, supervision of works, posts and fittings, concrete, erection, traffic management, lane rental charges and safety fencing.
Applicant should be made aware of likely costs at an early stage.
Financial Agreement
• A specific agreement must be made between the trunk road authority and the applicant prior to the installation of tourist signing
Design, Manufacture and Installation
Some HTAs will require that the design is carried out in-house whilst others will require designs to be carried out by approved consultants.
The approved signs must be manufactured by a sign manufacturer approved by the HTA.
In the case of signs on Trunk Roads and Motorways, the signs must be installed by an approved contractor in liaison with the trunk road operator.
Maintenance
Once the signs have been installed, they come under the control of the trunk road authority.
No alterations to the signs can be made without the consent of the trunk road authority.
The trunk road authority will be responsible for maintenance and repair of the signs including cleaning and the operation of variable flaps or covers.
The Future?
Ensure that tourist destination is a “point of interest” on GPS networks.