Q. Wedge notation is just one more variant in a stable of methods for showing property numbers.

Wedge notation is not just another method to be added to the four or more methods currently used. It is designed to replace all current schemes with one consistent method all councils will eventually use. All methods currently used are flawed, including that specified in the Australian Standard, and wedge notation overcomes every one of those flaws. In addition, it does what no current method can do—it shows the next numbers in the street, even if they are blocks away.

Q. Wedge notation and Lifesaver signs must be in the Australian Standard before we can use them.

A. Not true. David Freeman, Projects Manager of Committee MS/12 covering road signs and traffic signs, explains that Standards is largely a reactive body—it does not prescribe, but sets benchmarks for existing industry experience. For example: until 1997, the Standard specified that street name signs be black on white. But because so many councils had begun using coloured signs, the 1997 revision included a table of acceptable colour combinations providing the best contrast. Mr Freeman says wedge notation and Lifesaver signs will be accepted by the Committee for inclusion in the Standard, but they must be used, and widely accepted, first.

The flawed specification for property numbers is just one of many deficiencies in the current Standard—there are so many that an amendment slated for publication in 2000 was shelved in favour of a total rewrite. Mr Freeman says this rewrite is at least 2-3 years away, and one of the reasons for the delay is to assess councils’ reception of Lifesaver initiatives. The ball is in councils’ court.

A. Another misconception. The RTA does not approve street name signs. They clearly state that these signs are entirely the responsibility of local government. It is true that in recent years the RTA has included street name on its green and white destination signs, and hung the names of cross streets from the yard arms holding up traffic lights at prominent intersections. These actions were in response to an RTA survey which found that the public’s biggest complaint about road signage was street name signs. Showing street names on RTA signs has helped drivers enormously, but unfortunately, street name blades put up by councils have not kept pace with the needs of today’s drivers.

I envision a time when the RTA copies councils and adds wedge notation to the street name on those big green signs and yard arm signs. What a boon to drivers to know not only what major cross street is just ahead, but what addresses are on either side of the intersection. But councils must demonstrate to the RTA the power of wedge notation first.

A. Not so. All councils will never universally agree up front unless street name signs are taken out of their jurisdiction and legislated by a state or national body. Councils don’t all have to agree as a prerequisite. They will eventually agree, one by one, when they see the signs in operation and witness their favourable reception by the public and the emergency services. The gradual adoption of the signs by councils will result in their incorporation into the Standard and eventual use all over Australia. This will take time. It takes just one council to start, to become a model for the others. Ashfield Council has resolved to become that model.

A. They soon will. Emergency service personnel throughout NSW have been briefed on its use, with special attention given to local service providers in Ashfield and surrounding areas. The public will soon learn through increasing exposure to signs on street corners, explanations in existing council publications, and media attention. Roundabouts, clearways and transit lanes once had to be explained, but have all become part of the public knowledge bank. So will wedge notation.