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cropper's column
Page 87
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Road routeing numbers
• The use of numbers given to our highways is presumably meant to assist travellers to find their way by means of those numbers. It seems that when we get to the lesser but still important roads the system is sadly lacking. The motorways are plainly numbered, as are the main A roads with single numbers and most of those with only double figures. But this does not apply to lots of A roads with three and four figures, and to many B roads.
The Department of the Environment may say that it is sufficient reason to give numbers to first and second-class roads to identify them for engineering and financial purposes. Then why give intermittent numbering? My view is that every road which bears an A or B number should be clearly followable simply by that number. By a road number anyone should be able to pinpoint his' exact position.
There are many shortcomings from this objective. Road numbering is often particularly bad in urban areas. The A215 is quite a useful road which starts at Elephant & Castle and travels through South London some eight miles to Addiscombe. If it is not important, why give it a number at all? No motorist trying to find the start of it, by its number, at the Elephant & Castle, would find anything. Because I searched diligently. I know there is one number-sign, tucked away a, the side of the road, only useful for pedestrians. Then try to follow A215 by its number and you will not get far.
It can be quite good fun to try this game. The trouble is that we rarely bother to play it on territory we know, and when away from home we can be too preoccupied in finding our way. With other motorists barking up from behind, we just have to conclude that somehow we failed to spot the road number at the corner, when probably it was not there at all.
I consider that every destination sign located on a numbered road should carry that road number. A main breach of this ideal occurs at most junctions in respect of the local white destination board that usually follows the coloured long-distance destination board. The long-distance notice provides the road number, but on the local board the road numbers are omitted. After all, those places are still to be reached by A113 or A414 or A4128, as are the more distant places, and I believe we should be told this clearly.
Another frequent source of difficulty is when a lesser numbered road "runs over" a more important road and it gets lost: one does not know which way to turn to continue along it. It is some time since I have been on B184 which carries this number all through from Ongar to Dunmow. It runs for about a mile Over A414 and in the past was lost for this stretch; perhaps it has now been more clearly indicated.
In Croydon, nice clear new signs announcing A212 Lewisham are so bold that the stranger is entitled to consider this the approved route. I invite readers to reach Lewisham merely by following the ensuing signs.
Ralph Cropper