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Buckley and Drury residents worried about ‘misleading’ bridge signs

Sep 30 2010 by Francesca Elliott, Flintshire Chronicle

RESIDENTS of Buckley and Drury are worried new railway bridge road signs are doing more harm than good.

According to Buckley mayor Cllr Ian Thomas, residents have contacted him, worried that new signs on the bridge, which warn people to beware of traffic driving down the middle of the road, are actually encouraging more people to do just that.

“The signs, although well intentioned, seem to be doing the exact opposite to what they’re supposed to,” said Cllr Thomas.

“People see the words ‘drive’, ‘middle’, ‘road’ and seem to think that that’s what’s expected of them.

“We all naturally think that if people are driving in the middle of the road, there must be something to stay away from on the sides.

“The bridge over the railway is narrow, but two cars can pass, and it’s dangerous if one car is coming over in the middle and another one can’t see it. There have been a few very close calls.”

Cllr Thomas plans to contact Flintshire County Council’s Highways department to get the situation looked into.

“Some ideas put forward by worried residents are to install traffic lights or to make the road a one-way system,” he added.

“I think the one-way system would be a bit extreme but it is a dangerous piece of road.

Tony Davies, Flintshire County Council’s interim head of highways and transportation, said: “There has been concern expressed about damage being caused to the railway bridge through traffic particularly HGV traffic travelling on the grass verge.

“Posts have been erected to prevent drivers using the grass verge to protect the bridge.

“Signs have been erected stating ‘oncoming vehicles in middle of road’. These are used under the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002, to warn road users where vehicles are likely to be in the middle of the road because of the narrowness of the carriageway.”