Derry & Strabane Council to seek full audit of 'dirty and dangerous' road signage

A motion, put forward by SDLP Councillor Shauna Cusack at a Full Council Meeting on Wednesday, April 24, proposed contacting the Minister for Infrastructure, John O’Dowd, to request an “immediate full survey and audit of the conditions of their directional and safety signage, with a view to implementing immediate improvements here.”

The motion added: “This Council acknowledges the poor, dirty, absent and even dangerous condition of many of our road safety measures, such as signage and bollards.

“The council understands that during the impasse at Stormont, most works had been minimal and ad hoc which has exacerbated the problem of neglect, particularly in our Council area.”

Councillor Cusack said she had been contacted by “numerous” constituents about the issues, including driving instructors who “know our area like the back of their hands”.

“They’ve expressed extreme frustration regarding serious shortcomings in out city and districts’ signage and road safety measures,” Councillor Cusack said.

“The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) are responsible for the condition of safety signage and structures, which have been neglected for these past years.

“A full audit of our road signage would create a body of collated information, which can be used to create a work plan whereby multiple dirty, defective obstructed and absent signage can be tackled as a series of sweeping schemes.”

DUP Alderman Julie Middelton said road safety was “an issue which should unite all of us in the chamber”.

“Across the Faughan and further afield there is missing directional, hazard, and informational signage. We also have signage that is not visible due to overgrowth, dirt, and graffiti which is often sectarian.

“We need to ensure we have proper signage in place to aid pedestrians or vehicle users.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said the district’s roads had been “deteriorating for many years” in terms of signage and potholes, but DfI officials have said there’s no budget for repairs.

Councillor Harkin said that if Stormont “isn’t prepared to fund this we should be looking at the Shared Island Fund again, because there is a growing difference between the roads in the South and the roads in the North.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.