Better road signage coming

Efforts are on the way to step up signage around Barbados with the country’s National Signage Improvement Project.

Following concerns raised in the House of Assembly on Monday regarding the need to improve the island’s signage system including fallen bus stops and poor road markings, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Water Resources Cheryl Bennett-Inniss reported that the ministry was in the process of bringing back the project and engaging private sector partnerships to help finance it.

“And that’s how we hope to eventually sign Barbados the way it should be signed. So that project is coming back and we hope that we will make inroads in this as the resources allow,” Bennett-Inniss said.

She said even though a lot of work was currently being done as it relates to signage, limited manpower has hindered the effort significantly.

The CTO explained that the responsibility of the officers at the 30 depots across the island is to move around and report fallen bus stops, hanging signs, and other issues to the road signage team which once comprised four teams and is now down to one. She said the one team is based at the Richmond, St Michael, depot and is responsible for making and replacing signs.

“We are still working on it. We have never stopped working on our signage project and repairing signs and things like that. But obviously we are moving a bit slower now because we only have one team,” she said.

Bennett-Inniss also added that while the topic of pedestrian crossings close to roundabouts is often raised, the crossing is needed close to that intersection but in a safe location as has been technically advised. She said this is why motorists must approach intersections at a reasonable speed and not race through them.

“So, the point that we mark the pedestrian crossing is the point at which the vehicle tends to be moving the slowest. What all motorists and road users need to do is to remember that they are not the only ones on the road. They don’t own the space on the road and they have to learn to be vigilant and watch out for those who are more vulnerable and that includes pedestrians, cyclists, motorists. And on the other hand, pedestrians shouldn’t just get to a crossing and run across, not waiting to make sure that the motorists have seen them first before they step out,” Bennett-Inniss said. (AH)