Road signs 'may deface countryside'

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There could be as many as one million new speed limit signs in the countryside, with the Government encouraging local authorities to consider introducing lower limits, it said.

The CPRE would prefer to see a reduction in the national speed limit for rural single-carriageway roads to 50mph but local authorities being given discretion to keep their safest roads at 60mph.

The CPRE added that it wanted to see powers to introduce 40mph zones on minor rural roads, based on the success of 20mph zones on residential roads.

The campaign also called for a reduction in red tape to make introducing more 20mph zones on residential streets easier and cheaper.

CPRE senior transport campaigner Ralph Smyth said: "After deciding against a blanket 50mph national speed limit, the Government wants to encourage local authorities to consider introducing lower speed limits locally, which require repeater signs about every 300 yards.

"But it has not thought through the national costs and implications. Its piecemeal plans could require a million repeater speed limit signs that would deface the countryside and distract drivers while costing £300 million."

He went on: "We need to make rural roads safer and all the evidence points to reducing speed limits as the most important single step.

"We need a common-sense compromise between imposing a new blanket limit and a million new signs, which cash-strapped local authorities are unlikely to introduce anytime soon."