Councillor calls for action on broken and fallen road signs

Normal time taken to replace broken signs is three months

Fallen and broken road signs across north-east Fife have prompted a call for an urgent audit.

The environment is being littered by broken signs, according to Councillor Jonny Tepp, and he said Fife Council must either replace or remove them.

Mr Tepp, highlighted downed signs near St Andrews, which he said were the “tip of the iceberg” and said those in his ward – Tay Bridgehead – appeared to be in a state of terminal decline.

He said: “We hope that road signs are put in place for a reason and when they fall we expect they will be replaced.

“This no longer seems to be the case in Fife. The council now seems to lack the resource to do anything about it.”

Mr Tepp said he recently reported broken signs using the council’s online road fault reporting tool and was told they were a category B issue, which would be dealt with within five working days.

He was later advised the response was an error and it would actually take up to three months to fix them.

He said: “Fife Council roads department needs to think hard about whether it is really appropriate to just leave broken and fallen signs in situ for such a long period of time.

“If the council professional assessment is that they are not needed for another three months you have to question whether they are necessary at all.”

Kevin Smith, the council’s roads network management lead professional in north Fife, said: “There are a number of orders for sign works currently out for procurement and delivery in north Fife.

“The normal time taken for a piece of sign work, including ordering specialist materials and installing it on site is around three months. This is standard response time for signage, whereas fixing potholes has a five-day response.

“We’ve apologised to Councillor Tepp for giving him the wrong information when he contacted us initially.

“Last year we spent approximately £32,000 maintaining signs and poles in north Fife.

“We have a forward programme of planned works and anything reported to us is added to the list.

“We deal with signs in batches to get the best value for our money.”

Fife Council roads department needs to thinkhard about whether it isreally appropriate to just leave broken and fallen signs insitefor such a long period of time. COUNCILLOR JONNY TEPP

Mr Tepp reported the broken signs using the council’s online reporting tool.