How many times have you wept while looking for street signs that weren't there? How often have you driven for blocks trying to identify the street you were on, while the signs named only the side streets? Couriers and taxi drivers will tell you those missing signs are their biggest gripe, with missing or elusive house numbers a close second. And for emergency vehicles, signs and numbers can mean the difference between life and death.

Other first-world countries - indeed, other Australian cities - name both streets at intersections. Why doesn't Sydney? One problem is that the relevant Australian Standard says it isn't necessary. The standard needs changing. It's also because street signs are the responsibility of local councils, and Sydney has 40 of them, each doing its own thing. Willoughby, Rockdale and Sydney City do name both streets at all intersections, and Hurstville and Fairfield have now begun. In those council areas, a street directory will rescue a lost driver at the nearest corner.

Some councils will argue the cost of additional signs is prohibitive. Yet the very same councils replace perfectly serviceable signs with new ones bearing the municipal logo while leaving major streets unnamed at most intersections. It doesn't matter that both signs on a post don't match; what matters is that they are both there.

Additional signs are within the means of any council; the cost of kerbing and guttering a street of 25 homes would pay for 2,000 to 3,000 street name blades. And the work can be spread over several years.

But we not only need more signs - we need more informative signs. Some councils spend big on deluxe signs that project a glossy corporate image, yet are not so successful at helping people find their way. Some have adopted deeper 200mm blades only to use the extra space for their name or, worse, their slogans, instead of the suburb's name and property numbers.

Hornsby Shire Council addressed all these problems in its recent "Navigator's Paradise" trial in the Dence Park area of Epping. The trial followed requests from the local Neighbourhood Watch group which wanted to persuade Sydney's councils to install the missing signs and kerb numbers for every home. The project grew to include the content of signs.

The council supplied materials for kerb numbering and 16 new signs bearing the council logo, the street name, the suburb name, and property numbers.

The fire and ambulance services had asked for numbers on the signs because they indicate whether to turn right or left at intersections.

Numbers must be shown for both sides of the street, but displaying, say, 12-20 and 9-15 presents too much information for a driver to take in and act on quickly and safely.

So the signs used in the trial employed so-called "wedge" notation, which shows only the first numbers, on both sides of the named street. Parentheses designate the number on the side of the road opposite the sign, and a wedge, or incline, symbol shows the direction the numbers run, increasing toward the thick end and decreasing toward the thin end. So 12-20 and 9-15 becomes 12 (9) and a wedge sloping up.

Turning into a cross street, a driver would turn right for a number higher than 12 or 9 and left for a lower number. The economical presentation allows a quick, confident decision. Drivers travelling straight ahead can tell at each corner where they are on a street and will know at once if they have overshot their destination.

The trial of the wedge system was requested by senior officials from local units of the ambulance, fire brigade and police.

The system was explained through newspaper articles, public meetings, letterbox drops and signs at entry points to the test area.

The trial ran from August 1998 to June 1999 and the public feedback I gathered showed that people wanted: