Poll: New £100,000 electronic road signs aim to cut travel delays in Ipswich
The new electronic road sign in Rushmere
A new set of electronic traffic signs have been posted around Ipswich to help warn motorists of delays, roadworks and other essential travel information.
The variable message signs (VMS) signs resemble those seen on motorways, which help let motorists know where the delays are before they reach them, in an effort to help drivers plot alternative routes.
Five signs, each costing £20,000, have currently been put in place on key routes into town where many of the biggest hold-ups take place, including in London Road, Bramford Road, Felixstowe Road, Woodbridge Road and Bury Road.
A Suffolk County Council spokesman, said: “All sign locations were given careful consideration from both a resident and driver perspective.
“We have located signs in such locations as to give motorists useful information at the appropriate point in their journey into town so that they can redirect themselves if an incident is reported ahead.”
The £100,000 project began after a business case for the Travel Ipswich scheme, which looked at ways to improve travel around the town.
With the signs installed on Monday last week, already motorists have been warned of roadworks along Norwich Road and at the roundabout towards Ransomes Europark.
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However, council staff have insisted that nearby residents will not be affected by the new additions.
A council spokesman added: “From a resident perspective, wherever possible the signs have been sighted away from residential properties, however there are locations where this is not possible. In these locations, we have found locations where there are wide highway verges between the properties and the signs and placed them as far a practical away from the houses.
The light technology used on these signs is LED which means light is directed towards the highway and not towards the properties.”
What do you think of the new signs? Email newsroom@archant.co.uk or comment below.
