Street furniture? It's a load of bollards

By Steve Orme on Oct 3, 08 10:40 AM

When senior police officers and road planners started using the term street furniture, it was a bit of a laugh.
After all, what was all this about?
A small hardwood occasional table at the crossroads? Perhaps a handily positioned bed settee in the lay-by for overtired drives.

Sadly the usual overkill and overspend has turned our roads not so much into a branch of DFS as something closer to a bailiff's warehouse; stacked high with all the furniture you could imagine and some we would once have strained to comprehend.
Like those smiley electronic faces that light up with glee if you are under the speed limit. What is there to smile about doing 12mph in a 30mph zone because I've tried and the damn things still grin like a rictus monkey?
As it turns out drivers have had enough. More than 55% say there are too many signs, too much junk and too much confusion. Approaching junctions and roundabouts is like reading a Harry Potter book, lots of words many of them pure fantasy.
Clear vision is what is demanded.In the mind of the UK motorist, street furniture is a load of bollards.