Green is Good: but Safety is First The AGM of ARTSM will be held on Tuesday 3rd November at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon. The Association is grateful to Mr.Mark Lamb of Balfour Beatty for agreeing to be our guest speaker at this year’s meeting. At the conclusion of business at the Holiday Inn lunch will be taken on board The Countess of Evesham Restaurant Boat At a time when Local Authorities are under financial pressure The Association for Road Traffic Safety and Management (ARTSM) believes that pressure to reduce carbon footprint, together with a lack of planned maintenance of road signage is wasting resources and could be compromising safety. Lit signage is one small element of road safety management, but it is vital and should not be disregarded. Ken Simmons, Director of Simmonsigns, an ARTSM member company, says: “One example is an increasing trend for Street Lighting Departments to shelve responsibility for lit bollard maintenance, under the guise of cost reduction, in order to meet their ever more stringent budgets. Removing bollard bases and fitting reflective bollards often attracts cable termination costs, negates a valuable asset, and compromises future lit developments. The arguably increased costs are reassigned to traffic departments within the same Authority, who then bear the cost of installing, maintaining and cleaning less robust equipment without reference to historic performance/cost data. But these costs are ultimately paid from the same purse.” |
