Safe Speed Forums

Driver's blast over unlit warning signs
By Paul Keaveny



DRIVERS are being kept in the dark because the bulbs in illuminated street signs and bollards are not being replaced.

Roy Sammons, chairman of the Bolton Advanced Motorists group, has blasted highways chiefs in Bolton after carrying out a survey of roads between the Bolton-Salford border and Horwich.

Mr Sammons found that of the 53 warning and speed limit signs he passed, 41 had bulbs which were not working.

And of the 114 bollards and poles he passed, 24 were also unlit.

Mr Sammons said: "I am disgusted. I don't like to see the day-to-day routine stuff being left behind and ignored. Why would you put something in place if you are not going to maintain it?"

Mr Sammons conducted his survey taking a route from the Salford boundary along the A6 to the Chequerbent roundabout, the A58 towards Bolton, left along Beaumont Road, then left on to Chorley New Road towards Horwich.

He said: "If this is typical of the rest of Bolton then there must hundreds, if not thousands of lamps on road signs not working at night - and they are all intended to make driving on the roads safer."

Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton Council's executive member for environmental services, said that maintenance teams regularly toured Bolton at night to replace broken bulbs.

He said: "We have people who go about the borough in the hours of darkness to check these things. I would urge people like Mr Sammons and other members of the public to let us know so we can put them right."

Cllr Peel also said that in this year's budget settlement, an extra £1million would be ploughed into the highways.

"The bulk of that money, around £750,000, will be spent on improving the fabric of the roads and pavements," he said Extra cash will also go into emergency works and improving footpaths but street furniture, including bollards and road sign lighting, will not get any extra cash this year.

Cllr Peel added: "We can do almost double what we had planned for residential areas which is tremendously good news. The highways department have not been in this position for a long time.

"All the things that would have started in 2009/2010 have all been brought forward."

12:58pm Monday 31st March 2008