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Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signposting Policy and Guidance The New Trunk Road Policy BARRY ASPINALL TRANSPORT SCOTLAND The New Policy • Reason for Review • Review Procedure • Key Changes Reason for Review • Old policy from 1992 and 1998 • New Traffic Signs Regulations in 2002 • English Policy and Guidance 2004 • General Inconsistency in the application of old Policy The Policy Review TRL were commissioned in August 2003 to review the old Policy Initial consultation in September 2003 • Letters sent to around 100 stakeholders • Around 30 responses • Key Issues identified Workshops – January 2004 Day 1 – Tourist facility operators, Enterprise Companies Day 2 – Area Tourist Boards, motoring organisations, Scottish Executive, Transport Scotland Day 3 – Local authorities, trunk road managing contractors 40 representatives attended Workshops –Issues Identified Symbols • No consensus • Preference for ‘Thistle’ retained Distance criteria • Need more local flexibility • Need to avoid proliferation Visitor numbers • Need to retain but be more flexible • Need to accept ‘seasonality’ Workshops –Issues Identified Retail Outlets • Inconsistency between motorways and other roads • ‘Tourist shops’ only Quality Assurance requirements • Need more flexibility • Need to recognise other QA schemes Application Procedure • Too complex and too many organisations • Need a ‘one stop shop’ Draft Policy Consultation Draft Policy was published as a Consultation Paper on the Scottish Executive website in November 2005 and sent for comment to Tourist facility operators Enterprise Companies Area Tourist Boards Motoring organisations Scottish Executive Transport Scotland Local authorities Trunk road managing contractors New Policy Published Policy published on 9 October 2006 with electronic copies available on Transport Scotland web site. Main Changes Definition of Tourist Destination was brought into line with TSRGD 2002, which states that A Tourist Destination is a permanently established attraction or facility which: (a) attracts or is used by visitors to an area; and (b) is open to the public without prior booking during its normal opening hours; and (c) is recognised by VisitScotland Main Changes Home Traffic Authority (HTA) • Applicants have now a single point of contact • HTA co-ordinates assessment with other authorities. • The HTA is the road authority of the road immediately accessed from the tourist destination. • The HTA does not decide whether signs are approved in other authority areas. Main Changes Retail outlets can now be signed from motorways • Tourist (brown) signs only when accredited as a ‘tourist shop’ and meeting all other criteria • Standard direction signs used where required for traffic management reasons Main Changes Visitor Number Criteria • Still required on motorways only • 50,000 visitors per year • Seasonality measure (10,000 visitors in peak month) • Projected visitor numbers now allowed • Relaxations for historic or cultural attractions Main Changes Tourist Signs on Urban Motorways • Difficult to locate signs on urban motorways • No new tourist signs unless a significant case for them • Take account of visitor numbers, visitors from outside area, access arrangements • Eligible attractions expected to receive several hundred thousand visitors per year Main Changes Environmental Impact • New requirements for additional consultation in certain areas • National Parks, National Scenic Area, Geoparks, Areas of Great Landscape Value, conservation areas. • Further guidance in ‘Road Furniture in the Countryside’ Main Changes Signs to accommodation • B&B and hotels can now be signed from all-purpose trunk roads (if local policy allows) • Normally only if attraction is within 6 miles of trunk road • ‘Thistle’ symbol should be used Symbols Destinations accredited by VisitScotland use ‘Thistle’ symbol ‘Thistle’ symbol may be supplemented or replaced in certain circumstances Local Facilities Signs Facilities signs are not tourist signs • Destinations do not need to be recognised by VisitScotland Diagrams 2328 and 2329 • Alternative to Local Facilities Signs • To direct visitors to small towns/villages not on main through route • Destinations must meet basic tourist criteria • ‘Thistle’ symbol not necessary • Not permitted on motorways Collective signing Guidance is given on the use signing towns with several attractions Diagram 2215 for all-purpose roads Diagram 2927 for motorways National Tourist Routes Guidance is given on signs for • National tourist routes and tourist trails • National Parks and Geoparks • Other geographic areas • Boundary signs need special authorisation Sign Design Guidance Destination Legends • • • • • Lengthy destination legends to be avoided May need shortened Max 4 words on single destination sign Max 2 lines describing single destination Max 8 lines on any sign X-heights • Use LTN 1/94 guidance at all times • X-heights for all destinations on a sign must be the same Financial Arrangements On trunk roads and motorways all tourist signing is provided at the expense of the applicant. This cost includes the design, manufacture, supervision of works, posts and fittings, concrete, erection, traffic management, lane rental charges and safety fencing. Applicant should be made aware of likely costs at an early stage. Financial Agreement • A specific agreement must be made between the trunk road authority and the applicant prior to the installation of tourist signing Design, Manufacture and Installation Some HTAs will require that the design is carried out in-house whilst others will require designs to be carried out by approved consultants. The approved signs must be manufactured by a sign manufacturer approved by the HTA. In the case of signs on Trunk Roads and Motorways, the signs must be installed by an approved contractor in liaison with the trunk road operator. Maintenance Once the signs have been installed, they come under the control of the trunk road authority. No alterations to the signs can be made without the consent of the trunk road authority. The trunk road authority will be responsible for maintenance and repair of the signs including cleaning and the operation of variable flaps or covers. The Future? Ensure that tourist destination is a “point of interest” on GPS networks.