Letter: Lack of basic directions is a serious issue

This issue has been raised on the agenda, on a regular basis at the Forum for Tourism meetings, for the last several years, and was first brought to my own attention by the forum chairman, Graham North, who commented how signage had been temporarily pasted over to conceal routes to attractions, and facilities, such as toilets, which had been closed a long time ago.

It was clearly a cheap and quick, fix solution that seems to be taking ages to remedy.

I highlighted two signs on Manor Road, erected by Scarborough Council workmen many years ago, advising of “A NEW one way 50 yards ahead”, a system in operation around Nares Street and Garfield Road back lane, for around 15 years now.

The responsibility of these local signs passed to North Yorkshire County Council highways section, based in Whitby, several years ago.

Scarborough Council no longer has its own highways department.

Signage has always been an issue and we have to place ourselves in the position of a visitor who might require directions to facilities like the police station, which ironically had no sign on it for months after the frontage makeover, and was subsequently addressed following conversations with myself at the Northstead, Central and North Bay Community and Police meeting with Chief Superintendent Ali.

The only way people knew it was the police station, was ironically, by noticing their vehicles parked adjacent.

While working in the South Cliff area, I have been asked by motorists many times how to get to the hospital. People have driven along Queen Margaret’s Road following the signs from Filey on advice to follow the route to the Whitby road.

I theorise that they may be staying in campsites towards Filey and Bridlington and may need to get to Scarborough Hospital, but place yourself in their situation and attempt to find Scalby Road without a good map or satellite navigation and note how poor signage is to it.

Recently we had a brand new state of the art waterpark opened off Burniston Road, but direction signs are not up.

Why was this overlooked? Why do these issues take so long?

I remember when automatic barriers were erected on Marine and Royal Albert Drive to close the road to traffic, and sometimes vehicles were “locked in” - you had to drive up to the barrier sensors to make them automatically raise but signage was claimed to be inadequate and sometimes people abandoned their cars until the road was re-opened.

Anyone know why these barriers were removed?

They seemed to be more successful than the orange plastic barriers and road closed signs, erected now, which people seem to ignore thinking they are safe in their vehicle.

I must also mention the grubby yellow “CCTV in operation in this area” signs.

Why are these erected in residential areas when there is no on street CCTV coverage and not in areas like the Foreshore and town centre where there is?

Signs will increase once new on street dispersal legislation is introduced stopping begging and street drinking and so on.

I hope this letter arrives on the desk of the respective North Yorkshire County Council highways department dealing with these signage issues and addresses swiftly both mine, and other readers’ observations.

It all contributes to improving the visitor experience to our town.

Guy SmithPeasholm DriveScarborough