A confusion of signage.

[simonineaston]

In Bristol, we used to enjoy infrastructure that seemed to genuinely help us cyclists move about. An obvious example was the Bristol to Bath cycle path, still with us. Slowly, over the years, cycling infrastructure of all sorts has been added to the city's landscape. The current situation is a hodge-podge of all that's come before, as rarely is anything tidied up afterwards.
In particular, the city is littered with signage. Instructions as to how to move across the city are EVERYWHERE. These signs include many that are irrelevant one way or another to a traveller in the here and now. For example, there are signs that are out-of-date, that are worn out and so illegible, some are damaged, some are inaccurate, some are contradictory, some - rarely, thank goodness - are just plain wrong. Some are at ground level, others are up at eye level. Etc., etc., etc.
The upshot of all this cacophony of signage is that our collective minds have become "sign saturated" and we tend not to attempt to process any of them. Councils seem oblivious to this issue and simply pile more and more signs on top of the myriad already deployed, thus making the whole situation worse. Has any research been done on this topic? Do you, dear reader, agree with my hypothesis and how do we persuade councils to remove all the old signage where it is clearly no longer relevant, when they decide to try yet another project to guide our travel through the landscape of any given city?

[tim-b]

We've forgotten the lessons of the 1962-63 Worboys report and the Anderson report.

The final episode of The Secret Genius of Modern Life by Prof Hannah Fry https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029kth about motorways has a section on signage that's interesting

The more signs that councils erect, the more there are to ignore and that still need expensive maintenance. Perhaps councils would do well to consider that as a first principle when moaning about their lack of money

[rareposter]

Active ravel England has a host of design info and guidance on signage:
https://www.activetravelengland.gov.uk/ ... wayfinding#

But yes, a route is built, signage added etc and then when bits are added further down the line, rather than a reassessment of the current signage, it's usually cheaper to just bang up some new signs, it's all sort of costed into the overall build. It's very difficult to undo as well since it requires considerable time and expertise to assess every sign (in terms of the info on it, sizing, placement etc) and determine its need.

[plancashire]

The ADFC magazine Radwelt has a special photo section showing scenes from the Schilderwald (sign forest). There are lots of signs here but not quite as chaotic as in Bristol. We do have consistent route signs for bikes. Recently a Knotenpunkt system was added and sensibly implemented by adding little suspended numbers to the existing signs. These little hanging flags are a standard way to add named route logos to existing finger signs which show destination and distance. Could Bristol adopt a standard like this? Maybe the problem is that cycling signage in Britain has no standards, presumably because it is a fringe activity?

When I visit Britain I notice that it is irritatingly over-signed. There are wordy advice signs everywhere. Even if a standard symbol exists, words will often be used instead. Where else in the world paints SLOW on the road? Why do roadworks need a sign in front of the traffic lights? Why does every main road need a little picture of an old Hasselblad camera? Why is the AA allowed to add its own signs? How tight must a curve be to merit herring-bones? (Not very in Britain.)

This could all be a symptom of the gradual impoverishment of the public space in Britain: litter, potholes, broken pavements, rotting sign forests (see a recent edition of The Economist magazine). Local authorities have little budget left after education and social care.

[Bmblbzzz]

Cycling signage in the UK does have national standards, which is why all the signs are little blue ones sometimes with route numbers on red squares. Unfortunately, these standards do not usually allow new posts to be erected specially for cycle route signs, which is why they're often implemented in the form of little stickers on telegraph poles, telecoms cabinets, and similar.

Bristol specifically has invented its own, extremely good, pedestrian signage system known as Legible City. It makes walking round the city much easier for those who are unfamiliar with the place, but it's not really a great help at cycling speeds.

[simonineaston]

The fact remains that in spite of new guidance and serial advice on good practice, the old efforts pile up one on top of the other, like layers of fossils.