CRT wasting money

[Grassman]

I’m generally not one for knocking CRT but it does make me angry when they waste money. We’ve recently been on the western end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and the Leigh Branch, and at most of the locks they’ve erected new signs informing canoeists that they are approaching a lock, presumably to prepare them for portaging their canoes.

 

But most of them are within sight of the lock so why do they feel the need to have to put a sign up to tell them this? If a canoeist cannot recognise a lock when they’re approaching it then they shouldn’t be on the canal. Also, the signs give the number of minutes it should take to reach the lock, most say 5 minutes but are only a hundred yards or so from the lock. How slow do they think canoeists travel?

 

They had the same signs relating to swing bridges and incredibly a couple of them were sighted on the approached to old swing bridges which were no longer operational and obviously hadn’t been used for years. It really is beyond belief and what an utter waste of time and money. Am I missing something here?

[haggis]

It asked on here about these signs when we went to Liverpool a couple of years ago and I was told that the signs were put up for some big canoe event , I think the previous year. I too questioned how close they were to some bridges and that they were at bridges which were no longer there and the answer was that the instructions were to put  the signs up at all bridges whether they were still there or not.

 

Jsggis

[jonathanA]

Yes it's a bit pathetic I think there was another thread on the same subject.

 

Don't see the point of signs at swing Bridges that haven't moved for years and never will...

Edited June 28, 2021 by jonathanA
Spelling

[Tracy D'arth]

Just a further example of gross incompetence of the Canal and River Trust who I no longer trust at all. The only thing that they have achieved with considerable success is the waste of resources and money by the proliferation of pointless signage and "branding".

[David Mack]

The signs were put in for the Desmond Family Canoe Trail, which was privately funded.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/youth-engagement/the-desmond-family-canoe-trail

 

But I agree that CRT have rather shot themselves in the foot by positioning the signs on a standardised basis, rather than looking at the individual locations. I assume that the cost of getting a CRT employee out on the ground to every single location was higher than the cost of a few unneeded signs at former swing bridges.

Edited June 28, 2021 by David Mack

[dmr]

Its not really incompetence, its more like a well executed but misguided plan. They are totally obsessed by corporate branding and are just looking for any reason to put up more ugly blue signs.

 

Up here they recently did a survey of the current signs and then replaced them with nasty new blue ones. One sign said nothing at all, I assume most of it had broken off in the past, so they replaced it with a blue sign that also said nothing at all.

 

..........Dave

[Bod]

 

Foxton locks, have classic, beautiful new blue sign, explaining the locks, only it's on the off-side, approaching the lock, the steerer is concentrated, on entering the top lock, not reading the rather small print on a large complicated sign, which cannot be read from the tow-path.

 

Bod

[OldGoat]

It's easy to knock large organizations by not understanding how things work - or in this case -NOT.

 

When there were lengthsmen it was easier for the maintenance team to just issue 'whatever' and rely on the locals to install it/them in a sensible way.

Now - with so much work being subcontracted out there have to be specific standards to observe - else there could be mayhem.

As a society we've moved from 'leave it to a sensible individual'  to 'do it this way only'.

It's called a "standard" - but that doesn't work when dealing wit ancient structures.

[Heartland]

What are the legal requirements for signage these days.

 

There are so many objectors these days, does the CRT have to be very specific in their wording, not to mention the requirement for dual English and Welsh in certain parts.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The most likely way to get a waterways electric boat charging point network installed would be to present it to CaRT senior management as an opportunity to install even more blue signs. Not only would there be signs at the charging points, but signs every so many hundred yards telling boaters how far away the nearest charger is in each direction.

Then I remembered that this would be for something boaters, not walkers, cyclists, or voles.

[ditchcrawler]

38 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The most likely way to get a waterways electric boat charging point network installed would be to present it to CaRT senior management as an opportunity to install even more blue signs. Not only would there be signs at the charging points, but signs every so many hundred yards telling boaters how far away the nearest charger is in each direction.

Then I remembered that this would be for something boaters, not walkers, cyclists, or voles.

Wont the voles be in the charging points?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

57 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Wont the voles be in the charging points?

There will have to be some Ants in there with the Voles, or Watt's the point?

[Thomas C King]

Ohm my god, these jokes are terrible.

[jonathanA]

Some of them are joules

[haggis]

But they are all current

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

Joule started it, he was induced against his resistance. He said it hertz.

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Joule started it, he was induced against his resistance. He said it hertz.

 

But they all past the inductance test.

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

But they all past the inductance test.

Erg.

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Erg.

 

Is that sort of Reactance necessary ?

 

Are you Dyne ing out tonight ?

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Is that sort of Reactance necessary ?

 

Are you Dyne ing out tonight ?

Yes, go to coulombo for chips frequencly.  Sorry, madness.  

[Grassman]

17 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The most likely way to get a waterways electric boat charging point network installed would be to present it to CaRT senior management as an opportunity to install even more blue signs. Not only would there be signs at the charging points, but signs every so many hundred yards telling boaters how far away the nearest charger is in each direction.

Then I remembered that this would be for something boaters, not walkers, cyclists, or voles.

 

 

They could make them dual purpose ones that would cater for charging electric scooters and bikes as well as boats, that would sort it ?

[jetzi]

On 28/06/2021 at 19:19, David Mack said:

I assume that the cost of getting a CRT employee out on the ground to every single location was higher than the cost of a few unneeded signs at former swing bridges.

I saw the sign on the L&L warning of a clearly defunct swing bridge the other day. I thought maybe there was a working swingbridge further along (the sign was in the same visual range as the bridge, surely no one would put up a warning sign NEXT to the bridge?)

 

I dont mind the blue signs and even as a boater a 5 minute warning for a lock or swing bridge could be useful I feel. What bugs me is that an unneeded or innacurate sign isn't neutral or simply a waste of money.

 

Such a sign actively breaks the concept of signage. It is like shops putting up "open" signs that are permanently on... How can anyone trust any signs saying open if a few shops poison the well by falsely claiming to be open? Or the train announcements telling you to "mind the gap", a gap of an inch at most, which ends up blending into the background because it is warning of a danger that isn't a particular threat. No harm done right, not in that case? Until you get off at a station where there really IS a gap that a warning would be helpful for.

 

Tangential but a sign saying "water point" would actually be pretty handy at the nearby Dean Lock near the Gathurst Viaduct where it is virtually impossible to find if you don't know it is there.

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

53 minutes ago, Grassman said:

 

 

They could make them dual purpose ones that would cater for charging electric scooters and bikes as well as boats, that would sort it ?

Include USB and wireless charging to keep the phone zombies hunched over with their arms bent as they walk very slowly in to the cut. No way could they cope with experiencing something beyond the border of a screen. ?

Jen, writing this on a screen while walking very slowly, hunched over with arms bent. Braaaiiiiinnnns.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, jetzi said:

Or the train announcements telling you to "mind the gap", a gap of an inch at most, which ends up blending into the background because it is warning of a danger that isn't a particular threat. No harm done right, not in that case?

 

 

Unless you are wearing your stillettos, get stuck in the crack and twist your ankle - in todays society you need warning about everything. The railway stations are responding to this demand in all sorts of ways, including signage for additional facilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[Arthur Marshall]

17 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Unless you are wearing your stillettos, get stuck in the crack and twist your ankle - in todays society you need warning about everything. The railway stations are responding to this demand in all sorts of ways, including signage for additional facilities.

The farmer where I used to moor complained to us that he'd had to have his farmyard resurfaced because his stilettos used to get stuck in the holes...

Edited June 30, 2021 by Arthur Marshall