Department for Transport Circular Roads 3/93 Appendix A

Department for Transport Circular Roads 3/93 Appendix A

APPENDIX A

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF STREET NAME PLATES

  1. Street name plates should be fixed as near as possible to street corners, so as to be easily readable by drivers as well as pedestrians. The name plate should normally be within 3 metres of the intersection of the kerb lines, but where this is not practicable the distance may be varied up to a maximum of 6 meters.
  2. Street name plates should be mounted so that the lower edge of the plate is approximately 1 metre above the ground at sites where they are unlikely to be obscured by pedestrians or vehicles and at approximately 2.5 metres where obscuration is a problem. They should never be lower than 0.6 metres or higher than 3.6 metres.
  3. Name plates should normally be fixed at each street corner. At minor crossroads, particularly in residential areas, one plate on each side of the street positioned on the offside of traffic emerging from the road may be sufficient, except where the road name changes or where it is thought that paragraph 8 would apply. At major crossroads, name plates will be necessary on both sides of each arm.
  4. At T-junctions a main street name plate should be placed directly opposite the traffic approaching from the side road.
  5. Where the street name changes at a point other than a cross-roads both names should be displayed at the point of change and many local authorities have found it useful to include arrows to indicate clearly to which parts of the street the names refer.
  6. On straight lengths of road without intersections name plates should be repeated at reasonable intervals with priority given to such places as bus and railway stations and opposite entrances to well frequented sites such as car parks.
  7. Where two streets branch off obliquely from a common junction with a third street, plates on fingerpost mountings can be useful, provided they do not obscure any traffic sign.
  8. Where it might reasonably be expected, for example at intervals on long straight lengths of road or at intersections or T-junctions, many local authorities have found it useful to incorporate on the name plate information indicating the street numbers on either side of the intersection.
  9. Whenever practical, street name plates should be mounted on walls, buildings or other boundary structures at the back edge of the footway. Post mounting or finger mounting should only be used where normal mounting does not make the plate conspicuous (e.g. where an important side road has a narrow entrance or in the exceptional circumstances mentioned in para 7 above, or where it will frequently be obscured by pedestrian movement and cannot be mounted at the 2.5 metre height).
  10. The name plates should be so fixed that there is a clear space of at least 300mm in every direction between them and any notices, advertisements or other printed or written matter. Where possible greater clearance should be provided. Nor should they be incorporated in other direction sign assemblies, but be kept distinct and mounted in as standardised a manner as possible. Care should be taken to keep the view of name plates free from obstruction by trees and other growth.
  11. Where possible, name plates should be fixed so that they will be illuminated by light from street lamps, especially at important junctions, provided they remain visible to vehicles on the main carriageway.
  12. Duplication of street names or nearly similar street names should be avoided within one postal area.