"Bypass" signs
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"Bypass" signs
I came across this sign on the A69 on a recent trip. The only other ones I've seen have been in Scotland, so I assumed they were just a Scottish thing. Does it in fact signify "bypass" and are there other examples outside Scotland?
[real name Colin]
Re: "Bypass" signs
Yes, it indicates a town that has been bypassed, and which you can choose to pass through before rejoining your original route.
I think you’ll see them mostly in Scotland because they were a Scottish innovation, and specifically came about because villages bypassed by various road improvements were concerned about the loss of passing trade. The idea was that it didn’t just tell you a village was off to the left or right, it also told you that you could call in there and then be on your way again.
Originally they were authorised only in Scotland but they now appear in TSRGD. Even so, I think use outside Scotland is still very limited.
I think you’ll see them mostly in Scotland because they were a Scottish innovation, and specifically came about because villages bypassed by various road improvements were concerned about the loss of passing trade. The idea was that it didn’t just tell you a village was off to the left or right, it also told you that you could call in there and then be on your way again.
Originally they were authorised only in Scotland but they now appear in TSRGD. Even so, I think use outside Scotland is still very limited.
Chris
Roads.org.uk
Roads.org.uk
Re: "Bypass" signs
I want to say I've seen one on the A1 near Cromwell, although looking on GSV I can't seem to find one.
But Northbound on the A1 for Cromwell would be an ideal place for one.
But Northbound on the A1 for Cromwell would be an ideal place for one.
Re: "Bypass" signs
Thanks for the info, Chris.
I drove the bulk of the A1 on the same trip (A14 junction to just short of the Scottish border) so can be reasonably confident there isn't one at Cromwell or indeed anywhere else in England.
I drove the bulk of the A1 on the same trip (A14 junction to just short of the Scottish border) so can be reasonably confident there isn't one at Cromwell or indeed anywhere else in England.
[real name Colin]
Re: "Bypass" signs
I am fairly sure I have seen one in England. I'm now racking my brains where though.
Bryn
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Re: "Bypass" signs
Sorry, I meant anywhere else on the A1 in England.
[real name Colin]
Re: "Bypass" signs
Ah yes - funnily enough I could've sworn I'd seen one in Lincolnshire (not on the A1) but it's not springing to mind where at all.
Bryn
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Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
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Re: "Bypass" signs
There is one here https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2768014 ... 312!8i6656 & here https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2610078 ... 384!8i8192 on the A55
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Re: "Bypass" signs
The sign shows that a route into a bypassed town or village allows you to rejoin to main route beyond it, rather than it being somewhere that you would have to double back from.
The signs have been used in Scotland since I think the 1980s and has been in TSRGD since 1994.
The signs have been used in Scotland since I think the 1980s and has been in TSRGD since 1994.
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- A42_Sparks
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Re: "Bypass" signs
Sounds right, the first 'bypass' sign I saw was somewhere on the A75 between Stranraer and Dumfries in July 1987. I can't remember exactly what village it was, even after a look on Google Streetview.
Re: "Bypass" signs
this?A42_Sparks wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 17:24Sounds right, the first 'bypass' sign I saw was somewhere on the A75 between Stranraer and Dumfries in July 1987. I can't remember exactly what village it was, even after a look on Google Streetview.
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Re: "Bypass" signs
Not that one, I was actually travelling in the other direction and it was a smaller village than Gatehouse of Fleet.
I can remember the A75 curved round to the left with the village also on the left side of the A75 but at a lower elevation.
Re: "Bypass" signs
this then: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.92604 ... authuser=0A42_Sparks wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 18:56Not that one, I was actually travelling in the other direction and it was a smaller village than Gatehouse of Fleet.
I can remember the A75 curved round to the left with the village also on the left side of the A75 but at a lower elevation.
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Re: "Bypass" signs
Not that one either sorry - it was on the opposite side of the road, i.e. turning left off the eastbound A75.OliverH wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 20:29 this then: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.92604 ... authuser=0
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Re: "Bypass" signs
There is one on the Northern Irish A5 for Newtownstewart. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.72367 ... 384!8i8192
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Re: "Bypass" signs
This signage is now quite common in Australia. Note that one of sydneynick's links shows an additional feature that's also becoming common: the distance on each leg to the bypassed town, which may assure you that you're not wasting too much time.sydneynick wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 01:48 We have similar signs along the Hume Motorway at Goulburn and Mittagong and other towns.
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Re: "Bypass" signs
I believe the "bypass" signs were in use in certain Australian states before 1987, so this might be the only(?) example of an Australian signing practice being adopted in the UK rather than the other way around?
I'm not quite sure when they first appeared in Australia (probably Victoria) but they were incorporated in the first AS1742.8 (1990) but not in the preceding standard from 1978.
I'm not quite sure when they first appeared in Australia (probably Victoria) but they were incorporated in the first AS1742.8 (1990) but not in the preceding standard from 1978.