Saturday 16 October 2010
Example signs are shown in this article.
Cycle lanes
End of with flow cycle lane:
Before change (left)
Two possible replacements (right)
Before change (left)
Two possible replacements (right)
Start of a with-flow cycle lane (top);
With-flow cycle lane (middle);
End of cycle lane (bottom)
With-flow cycle lane (middle);
End of cycle lane (bottom)
End of mandatory cycle route (top);
End of advisory cycle route (second from top);
End of cycle lane in mixed cycle and pedestrian path (second from bottom);
End of cycle lane in separated cycle and pedestrian path (bottom)
End of advisory cycle route (second from top);
End of cycle lane in mixed cycle and pedestrian path (second from bottom);
End of cycle lane in separated cycle and pedestrian path (bottom)
Contraflow cycle lane sign after suggested redesign (centre);
Optional alternative redesign suggestion (right)
One way except for cycles before redesign (left);
One way except for cycles after redesign (right)
One way except for cycles after redesign (right)
Bus lanes
The "Only" supplementary plate is completely unnecessary,
and should be removed. The sign already means "buses and cycles only".
and should be removed. The sign already means "buses and cycles only".
Symbolic end of buses only restriction sign.
Only to be used if the entire lane was closed to other vehicles.
Only to be used if the entire lane was closed to other vehicles.
Start of local bus lane with cycles and taxis permitted.
No change required.
No change required.
Before conversion (left);
After mandatory conversion (right);
Before conversion (left);
After conversion, with suggested symbolic > 7.5t (right);
Remember that the correct symbol for tonnes is t. The symbol T is for tesla and measures magnetic flux density, so correcting "T" with the correct symbol "t" is mandatory. Using "> 7.5t" is better than using "Over 7.5t", because this eliminates the need for translation in bilingual areas. This might look unimportant, but remember that anything language specific on bus lane signs will need to be translated.
Replacing wordy end of bus lane sign with symbolic version:
Before conversion, for end of bus-only bus lane (left);
Two possible replacements, for end of bus-only bus lane (right);
Before conversion, for end of bus-only bus lane (left);
Two possible replacements, for end of bus-only bus lane (right);
Below shows the signs for the different kinds of bus lane, in particular the start of the lane, the bus lane, and the end of the bus lane.
of bus lane, the bus lane, and end of bus lane.
There might be some circumstances where no entry / no vehicles / no motor vehicles except for buses (and often cycles and taxis as well) but the supplementary plate should show exceptions symbolically. In other circumstances it is better to use a buses only sign (or equivalent), it is also cheaper as in many cases no supplementary plates are required.
Replacement of wordy supplementary plate or entire sign:
Before conversion (left);
After conversion of supplementary plate (centre);
After conversion of entire sign (right)
Before conversion (left);
After conversion of supplementary plate (centre);
After conversion of entire sign (right)
Contraflow bus lane:
Before suggested redesign (left);
After suggested redesign (centre);
An alternative redesign (right)
Before suggested redesign (left);
After suggested redesign (centre);
An alternative redesign (right)
Before conversion (left);
After conversion (centre);
Alternative conversion (right)
There are some lanes, which really do get closed off to other vehicles. For example, if one drives to Heathrow Airport on the M4 spur, there is a bus lane closed off to all other vehicles, and there is a sign which shows all the lanes, one of which is buses only. Such a sign needs to reflect the road classification (motorway, primary route, non-primary or local route). Below is a suggested minor modification which makes the sign easier to understand, making it clear that the lane is buses only, and smaller too. The example is for a non-primary/local route:
Conversion of bus lane where all other traffic is closed off:
Before conversion (left);
After conversion (centre);
The converted sign is clearer, and smaller.
Before conversion (left);
After conversion (centre);
The converted sign is clearer, and smaller.
The end of this sort of bus lane would need to look as shown below (again a non-primary/local route example is shown):
End of bus lane which was closed to other traffic.
No lane merge in this case.
No lane merge in this case.
End of bus lane which was closed to other traffic.
There is a lane merge in this case.
There is a lane merge in this case.
Tram lanes
The sign already means tram only, the supplementary
plate saying "Only" is unnecessary and should be removed.
Removing the redundant "Only" within a map-type direction sign
will make the sign smaller and therefore cheaper.
plate saying "Only" is unnecessary and should be removed.
will make the sign smaller and therefore cheaper.
Car sharing lanes (also known as carpool lanes)
Before conversion (left);
Conversion to metric and 24h only (right)
The symbols are already enough to explain what is and is not permitted.
HOV lane sign conversion:
Start of HOV lane (top); HOV lane (centre); End of HOV lane (bottom)
Start of HOV lane (top); HOV lane (centre); End of HOV lane (bottom)
Give way signs approaching a cycle, bus, or tram lane
The symbols already make it clear which vehicles to watch out for.
The words are all superfluous and just take up space.
Furthermore, these should be used as supplementary plates to give way signs
The words are all superfluous and just take up space.
Furthermore, these should be used as supplementary plates to give way signs
Usage of fully symbolic supplementary plates:
With Give Way signs used as is (top);
With language independent Give Way signs which is recommended (bottom)
With Give Way signs used as is (top);
With language independent Give Way signs which is recommended (bottom)
Signs where footpaths cross cycle and/or bus lanes
Possible conversion of a cycle warning sign for pedestrians.
The sign for pedestrians needs to be much smaller than the road sign equivalent.
The sign for pedestrians needs to be much smaller than the road sign equivalent.
Similar conversions can be considered for "BUS LANE LOOK LEFT" "CYCLE AND BUS LANE LOOK LEFT" (which could use symbolic supplementary plates for a general warning sign for example), or "ONE WAY LOOK LEFT". If it is safe to do so, these type of pedestrian signs can also be removed, but only if the signs have no effect on pedestrian safety. Unnecessary clutter should also be removed too (whether it is the clutter on the signs, or if the sign itself is just clutter).
In general pedestrian signs need to be either metricated (such as the distance to emergency exit or on general distance signs for pedestrians), made completely symbolic if they are too wordy, or removed completely if they are just clutter and have no effect on pedestrian safety. The most important task for pedestrian signs is metrication by far.
There are several pedestrian signs which are already symbolic (such as the subway symbol) which also have no measurements and so do not need any change.
Whilst I agree with the vast majority of your redraws, Mr. …urmm Glob, I have serious problems with these, especially the conversion of certain signs to blue disks. Take your cycle lane signage ideas: what you would in fact be converting them to is a sign stating "Pedal cycles only"; is the whole road closed to motor vehicles after the sign? The cycle lane signage legislation needs to be changed; there shouldn't be a need to have a sign after every single side road. The same goes for bus lanes. On the matter of HOV lanes, what you've proposed is a "No vehicles except those occupied by more than two people" sign. In 1600 m, if I'm in a car by myself, does this mean I'll have to turn off before then? With the "one-way except for cycles" diagram, I agree with the right-hand redesign (blue sign with white two-way plate beneath) but I would only agree if the blue sign was replaced with the correct one-way sign which is rectangular. The sign you've chosen is "ahead only" both here in the UK and in other countries. Sorry for this rant, …do keep the redesigns coming.
ReplyDelete@Kevin - Thank you for your comments. You have made very good points, and I have updated and corrected the relevant signs accordingly.
ReplyDeleteMore redesigns are to appear in future articles.
Moreover, the 'cycle on a blue circle' symbol means that motor vehicles would be prohibited from using the cycle lane, which is not the case for the majority of cycle lanes.
ReplyDeleteThat could mean exclusive cycling area that is protected in some way. Like the segregated cycle lanes popping up in a lot of areas. Note I would define segregated as with a kerb or verge, so as to exclude the armadillos and planters and flex bollards. Also, laws could determine that in the absence of a sidewalk but in the presence of a cycle facility, you walk on the cycle facility, and you walk on it just like you walk on a road except the road happens to be occupied by bicycles. This is how the Dutch create safe pedestrian and cycle route in rural areas.
DeleteHello, I realise this is an old post, but stumbled across your site and couldn't NOT comment. The red slash across the cycle symbols would indicate to me that cycles are not allowed, which is (I assume) not what is intended, but merely that a dedicated / marked route has ended.
ReplyDeleteHi there, thank you for checking out this site and for commenting.
DeleteEven though this post is old, that is not a problem - I welcome your comment because I am working on a PDF which incorporates my thoughts (with the aim of sending it to the DfT), it should be ready within the next few months.
You are correct, that is what I intended - and it is based on the design for the UK end of minimum speed limit (which is also a blue circle with a red slash), which is also an end of a restriction - based on that I believe it is fine and a standard design which conforms to the Vienna Convention.
You most likely know this already, but there is however already a "No cycles allowed" sign, the a black cycle on a white background within a red circle, a standard prohibition.
Also try a square blue sign with a bike inside to indicate optional cycle path and a circular blue sign with a bike to indicate mandatory bicycle path.
ReplyDeleteI suggest adding bicycle and moped paths, bicycle, bus and moped paths, adding mopeds to where cyclists are excepted to regulations like one way roads. I also suggest using a symbol for taxis, like a car with checker patterns on parts of them, larger headlights, maybe something else.
ReplyDeleteIt would also be worth adding a supplementary plate to make it clear whether the cycleway is bidirectional or not.
ReplyDelete