Tim O'Brien attempts to make sense of Dublin City Council's new signposts, which have been criticised for attempting to convey too much information and being difficult to understand while driving
Dublin City Council has embarked on a public information campaign aimed at increasing understanding of the new signposting system for the city which was announced this week.
To be introduced in tandem with the new cross-city traffic restrictions beginning on Monday, the signs will direct motorists towards "inner" and "outer orbital" routes, as well as the M50.
It is hoped the public information campaign will reduce resistance to the new signs which have been criticised for being too complex and difficult to understand.
According Mr Owen Keegan, the council's director of traffic, the signs are there to assist, "but if you don't want to use them you may just avert your gaze and drive on. They can't make things worse".
Mr Keegan said the signs were the result of "a number of compromises" and "unlike most things we do, they were the result of a lot of thought and consultation.
"The consultation revealed that most people felt the directional signage in Dublin was appalling. In devising a new system with new signs I don't think people can accuse us of not trying."
Mr Keegan acknowledged "there is a learning curve" associated with the signs and repeated his earlier defence of the absence of an English language translation for "An Lár", on the ground of available space.
Essentially the signs will come with three colour-coded backgrounds; white, purple and orange.
When motorists come upon a sign with a white background it signifies that they are nearing one of the two orbital routes.
Directional arrows will point towards the orbital route while a number will tell which junction is ahead.
Other directional arrows will point to alternative routes, such as the other orbital, or the M50. The city centre will be indicated by the words "An Lár" and a directional arrow, while national primary roads and regional routes are to be indicated by the letters N and R, coupled with their respective route numbers.
The letter P on a blue background indicates the presence of a car park. Motorists coming upon a sign with a completely purple background are being told that they are on the outer orbital route - a route that approximates to the canal ring.
Motorists coming upon a sign with a completely orange background are being told that they are on the inner orbital route - between St Stephen's Green to the south and Parnell Square to the north.
Each junction on the inner and outer orbitals is numbered, which, according to Mr Keegan, companies may find useful to put on their headed notepaper. The city council, he instanced, may decide to put the figure 21 in an orange background on its notepaper, signifing the civic offices are close to junction 21, on the inner orbital. Similarly, he suggested that the Eye and Ear hospital might display the number four on a purple background, signifying that the hospital is near junction four on the outer orbital.
The new signage was designed in-house by city council staff after an initial presentation by consultants, the city council said yesterday, adding that it was developed over a period of about eight months.
The aim is for the signs to effectively guide up to 70 per cent of the current volumes of traffic in the city centre, which is to be diverted by the restrictions.
The public information campaign is to be extended to tourist publications to assist visitors to the city who could not be expected to understand the new system.