Too many signs turn Bridge 'into urban forest'
Fri 15 Feb 2019
More than 130 posts – most with signs on them – are littering the Bridge, a special survey for the douzaines of St Sampson and the Vale has discovered.
The number was disclosed as part of a new initiative by the two parish authorities seeking to improve the area, which is heavily used by residents and the rest of the island.
It highlighted that between the entrance to Guernsey Electricity's offices and Le Crocq there are 72 official posts with signage on them, a total of 46 scaffold poles, 15 lamp posts and two flagpoles. That's 135 in all and details of them are provided in the downloads section at the bottom of the page.
Amazed
Vale Constable Richard Leale, who supported the survey because of his own concerns about the visual impact of too many signs, said he was not surprised by the results. 'However,' he said, 'I expect the vast majority of people will be amazed by what we have discovered.'
Some of the issues highlighted by the survey this week by St Sampson's Douzeniers Leonie Le Tissier and Rob Gill will be addressed by the parishes' joint Floral Group and other interested parties.
The wider aspect of the signs and scaffold poles is to be examined separately. Mr Leale said: 'With St Sampson's, we will be asking the relevant authorities how many of these posts, poles and signs can be removed. Decluttering would be an excellent start to the visual improvement of the area.'
He added that while the survey wasn't prompted by Environment and Infrastructure's proposals to introduce more 25mph speed limits, it did reinforce the need for care in the number of poles and signs being erected.
Additionally, the inspection of the island's second retail centre showed how little consistency there is in such street furniture.
Urban forest
Mr Gill said: 'Looking at all these posts made us realise the Bridge is getting more like an urban forest and that action is needed.'
He and Mrs Le Tissier were also surprised to note that while there are 15 lamp posts in the area surveyed, there are nine different designs, and many of them are badly corroded.
'If they do need to be replaced at the least we hope there can be some consistency applied and attention given to the appearance of these facilities,' he said.
