Signing off on sign logic | Gympie News | Local News in Gympie

SIGNED: Some residents are calling for better placement of signs during floods.

Renee Pilcher

SOME Gympie region residents are getting hot under the collar when it comes to what they regard as “idiotic” and illogical placement of road hazard signs during flooding, and also the tardy removal of road closed signs from roads that are perfectly accessible.

Graham Jenkins is calling for a more common sense approach to the placement of road signs following the recent closures of council controlled roads and bridges.

There needs to be more thought given to where they are placed with a view to being effective and an aid to motorists, he says.

“One sign on Glen Echo Road was “50 metres off the water”.

“There should be one placed at the crossroads and one at the bridge,” Mr Jenkins says.

Signage should indicate that a road is closed well ahead at a location that saves people a long futile drive and a sign indicating a detour if one is available, while at the hazard there should be a depth indicator which shows approximate depth, he says.

“A sign saying ‘water on road’ – what does that mean?”

“It could be three inches or three metres,” he said.

Drivers need adequate advance warning distance, particularly necessary for trucks or cars with trailers to ensure they have a safe area to turn around should they not be able to continue on their journey.

In many instances, Mr Jenkins says, the bitumen is only 20 feet wide with saturated road shoulders.