Our road signs are a crime

THE EDITOR: As a member of the travelling public and a regular road user I have some concerns which I wish to air in your newspaper.  Firstly I view the use of road signs in our country as a form of adhoc happenstance.  These signs cannot be placed by people who use the roads or by persons who have any foresight.  On the way to the airport should you be travelling on the highway going east for the first time as a driver the only time you see a sign is on the northern lane and really you should be staying on the southern side so as to be in the correct lane for the airport turn off.

Then if you are coming from the east there is a little sign with a plane directly under the traffic lights where you should be turning to tell you that this is the junction for the airport, but clearly that sign was made for pedestrians, not vehicular traffic, because if you are in a vehicle there is no way at that point that you can change a lane to go in the right direction. At the Uriah Butler intersection close to Nestle work is proceeding apace for the widening of carriageway.  However the traffic lights are in the middle of the road and there is some flimsy yellow tape to let drivers know that there is an obstruction.  Because of this, four lane traffic has to flow into two lanes while there is also a filter lane swinging from the north to the east.  This is sheer madness on any given day. There are no proper signs to say “get in lane.”  I have also seen major digging of roads being done around the Queen’s Park Savannah and again there are no signs on the road to say “get in lane,” “obstruction ahead” or “no left turn” at the corner.  The only way that you as a driver know about these obstructions is when you reach to them and by then sometimes it is too late.

Some companies may argue that they take out an ad in the newspapers saying that they are laying cables or whatever the case may be but that is just as ridiculous as when I was told by a policeman that I had parked in a no parking zone after I had my vehicle towed away.  I said to him that there were no signs anywhere to this effect.  He replied that the information concerning this was to be had at the Printery in some printed document. I am really amused but this can only cause the death of some printed document. I am saying to the powers that be please “be real,” What you are doing to the travelling public is a real crime SO FIX ME FIRST!

ARLENE TAPPIN-CAINES
Laventille