Wrong Colour - But They Work

Springing up like mushrooms during the last two days in Rushden High Street, have been twenty-four 'No Waiting' signs, erected for a three-months trial to overcome Rushden's traffic problem.

The effect on motorists in High Street, which is also the A6 highway, is already noticeable, and the area has taken on a barren appearance only broken by an occasional trade vehicle loading or unloading.

The signs have been erected from Station Road to the War Memorial, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. They are there to be obeyed, but there is no doubt that the Police will show their usual tolerance for the first few days.

The work of installation has been done by the County Council following a recommendation from Rushden Council. The original plan was for the no-waiting area to start from a point south of Victoria Road, but posts have been erected as far north as Station Road, and it remains to be seen whether an error has been made.

Gleaming on black-and-white banded posts, the signs point out that there can be no waiting between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. According to a Ministry of Transport edict published on Tuesday, however, no-waiting posts will now be in black and yellow, so those who have admired the colour scheme must be prepared for an early change.

Angle Queried

The signs have been erected so that the inscription is parallel to the carriage-way. It may be that the discs will be quite readable in this position, but many people think they would have been more prominent in a head-on position. Signs have been erected in a similar fashion in other parts of the country and have later been changed to read head-on.

It is to be hoped that the scheme will provide the answer to Rushden High Street's traffic problem, which has long been acute. Though the width of the street varies considerably, it is, at the narrowest point, near Coffee Tavern Lane, only 18ft. 2ins. in width.

A few months ago, following opposition by the Chamber of Trade and the United Counties Omnibus Co., the Minister of Transport vetoed a one-way traffic plan for the street. The no-waiting Order is considered by all parties to be a very necessary alternative.