Calls for more permanent ‘smiley face’ road signs across Shetland
MORE permanent ‘smiley face’ road signs are being sought in Shetland to help curb speeding.
Lerwick South councillor Neil Pearson said the signs “really are an effective deterrent” for drivers, and called for more of the signs to be installed permanently across the isles.
The signs, which are vehicle activated and tell drivers what speed they are going, encourage drivers to adhere to the speed limits through smiley or sad faces.
They have been deployed at various parts of Shetland for temporary periods in recent months, including in Lerwick’s King Harald Street, Tresta and Brae.
A meeting of Shetland’s community safety and resilience board heard on Wednesday that permanent smiley face signs are expected to be installed soon in several locations.
These include the A968 and A970 roads at Voe, the A970 at Scalloway and on the A971 road at Bixter, on both the east and west approaches.
Roads manager Neil Hutcheson said the power requirements for the signs had been agreed with SSE, with the expectation that these would have been installed by the end of June.
However, he said this had been delayed due to resourcing issues.
Shetland News reported in May that the signs were set to be permanently installed in certain areas.
North Mainland councillor Andrew Hall said there had been “constant questions from the community” about when the signs would be installed.
Hutcheson responded that it would “certainly be done this financial year”, with the hope that they could be installed sooner rather than later.
Lerwick South representative Pearson said he felt the signs make a “massive difference” to road safety – and asked if they could install more of them.
“I really genuinely believe as a council we need to pursue this in more permanent areas,” he said.
Help keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Good local journalism takes time, care and people on the ground. Membership helps us keep reporting the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read. Members get a weekly newsletter created especially for them, local ads only, and can bookmark stories and join the conversation in the comments.
Already a member? Sign in.
“They really are an effective deterrent.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s area commander for Shetland, Andrew Wright, agreed that the smiley face signs seemed to have a big effect on reducing speed.
However, he said there was “not the same buy-in for them when they’re moved around”.
“People seem to forget,” he added.
Roads manager Hutcheson also told the meeting that Shetland Islands Council was working its way through the implementation of 20mph speed limits in parts of the isles.
Lerwick and Scalloway had now been completed, he said, with the council now turning its attention to housing sites in rural areas.
No public objections were raised to 20mph limits in Mossbank and Firth, or in Hoswick, so traffic orders have now been made.
Voe and Brae are next in line for possible reduced 20mph limits in certain areas, Hutcheson said, with public meetings set to be held in late November or early December.
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.
Already a member? Sign in.
