Signs of chaos al
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Ian limps into life
THE GREATER London Council's night and weekend lorry ban limped into reality at 9pm last Friday, as operators appeared to be more faithful in fitting signs than the GLC.
CM reporters and Freight Transport Association officials toured two key areas of the capital as the ban came into effect, monitoring traffic on the western approaches by the North Circular and A4 through Chiswick and on the south-eastern approaches by the Al2 and All Despite an "unqualified assurance" passed on by the GLC to the FTA that all regulatory signs for the ban would be erected by 9pm, we found few.
In the London Borough of Ealing, where the first signs had been unveiled before Christmas, there were signs aplenty at most exits from exempt routes, but none of these was lit. We learned later that Croydon in South London was also well stocked with signs.
But in other boroughs in west London, we found no evidence of any work having been done to erect warning Signs.
Even at such key junctions as that from the A4 (exempt) on to Kew Bridge (within the ban area) for the South Circular road, there was nothing to indidate that lorries are banned.
Operators, by contrast, Below: The GLC's telex which quoted an "unqualified assurance" from the assistant chief engineer (construction) that all regulatory signs would be in place by 9pm last Friday.
seemed to be dutiful in fitting exemption plates to their lorries if they had received supplies.
In the first half hour of the ban, our team counted 17 lorries on the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 heading inevitably from an exempt route into the ban area.
Of these, 10 displayed at least one plate, and we have no reason to suspect that the others had not been granted exemptions as the supply of plates and documentation was late in being sent out by the GLC.
What did seem to be causing confusion was where to fix the plates. Apart from those vehicles which either had only a front or a rear plate — none we saw appeared to have a plate at the back of the tractive unit — there were plates fitted in the middle, offside, nearside, top, on rear under-runs and on special hanging plates.
Complained FTA press and information manager Geoff Dossetter: "How will punters seeing these vehicles passing their windows be able to see these plates? This ban introduction has been bungled."
There have also been problems in removing green or blue protective films from the plates. The GLC's advice has been to leave it on if it will not peel off without damaging the lettering on the plate.
Meanwhile, in South London CM travelled down the exempt A217 Sutton-Reig; road, with F1'A planning a information director Richa 'Furrier.
We failed to spot even o of the prohibition lorry b signs that should have tc lorry drivers that they cot not branch off the road — a: which GLC Transport Col mittee chair Dave Wetzel sured CM in the afternoc would all be there. "By 9pm tonight all of the mdatory (prohibition) signs 11 he up, and the voluntary visory (repeater) signs will put up in the next few eks," he had said. Later, he d he had been misled.
On the exempt A20 and ackwall Tunnel we again x no prohibition signs nearest was a bare post here the South Circular Inches off at Westhome 'Lime from the A20.
Fhere were no signs to Til drivers not to travel up prohibited A13 East India wk Road, which continues to the Commercial Road. Ibis is one of the busiest ids for lorries in London. rner could only look inedulous and explain tathlessly: "It's a joke, a :e. We wanted an orderly roduction if it had to come " he said,
[n 20 minutes on the East ha Dock Road, seven of
13 vehicles over 16.5 tines which passed 1.1 3wed at least one exempn plate.
In a 30-minute survey on prohibited part of the A2 hich leads up to the ackwall Tunnel, only two the 10 northbound lorries it passed had plates. Three those without plates were -eign operators; the rest re hire or reward hauliers.