Road sign vandalism in Canberra?

Putting a length of razor wire on the top of the signs, sunk in so that the blades protrude but are invisible from underneath, might prove something of a deterrent for a while.

Speaking of sign vandalism, how about the vandalism of businesses using street signs as advertising space?

Same story down in far south Tuggers. Most damage seems to be at roundabouts at a rate of about 1 sign per week. The Govt. doesnt even replace them now. I was quite annoyed when the Govt. went and flattened out all the raised beds on roundabouts. It was obvious the bogans were about to have a field day after the safety nazi’s got there way.

troll-sniffer said :

Aaah no, the obvious solution is to devise a vandal proof (or as close as possible to it) solution. If TAMS are regularluy replacing the sign with no attempt to make it more difficult for the next bogan teen, then they are being negligent with public funds.

Isn’t that what TAMS specialise in – wasting public funds? Classic case was along the bike path leading from Cotter Rd to Molonglo River, near the RSPCA. About two years TAMS planted hundreds of 3-4m tall trees along the path, and watered them weekly all through summer. Must have been quite expensive.

Then, the following autumn Roads ACT contractors came along and bulldozed at least a hundred of these trees to make way for construction of the North Weston Pond. I asked Roads ACT about this. At first they denied anything happened, but then went out to have a look at the site and admitted all the trees had been bulldozed, but then went on to blame TAMS and the lack of communication between agencies in the ACT government. ‘If only TAMS came to us to ask us what was planned for this site, we would have told them not to plan trees there’. Classic Canberra.

yellowsnow said :

People steal the street sign in my street every few weeks. Every time TAMS replaces it, it disappears again. Reason: street name sounds vaguely cool, and no doubt teens think it would be a great addition on their wall alongside Justin Bieber or Timberlake posters or whatever the hell youngins idolise these days. (I won’t say what the street name is because the less scrupulous among you may wish to also add my street sign to your collection).

The obvious solution to the problem is to lobby the powers that be to change the name to something less tempting, like ‘Loser St’, but i doubt they’ll go for it. I guess eventually, once all the bogan teens of Canberra have a copy of the street sign, demand will be exhausted and they’ll move on to coveting another street.

Aaah no, the obvious solution is to devise a vandal proof (or as close as possible to it) solution. If TAMS are regularluy replacing the sign with no attempt to make it more difficult for the next bogan teen, then they are being negligent with public funds.

I believe Holden Cres in Wanniassa now has vandal proof signage, consisting of an application of white paint on the kerb with the name of the crescent painted thereupon. Not rocket science but possibly too far down the inventive path for the rest of TAMS to copy.

yellowsnow said :

People steal the street sign in my street every few weeks. Every time TAMS replaces it, it disappears again. Reason: street name sounds vaguely cool, and no doubt teens think it would be a great addition on their wall alongside Justin Bieber or Timberlake posters or whatever the hell youngins idolise these days. (I won’t say what the street name is because the less scrupulous among you may wish to also add my street sign to your collection).

The obvious solution to the problem is to lobby the powers that be to change the name to something less tempting, like ‘Loser St’, but i doubt they’ll go for it. I guess eventually, once all the bogan teens of Canberra have a copy of the street sign, demand will be exhausted and they’ll move on to coveting another street.

I think ‘Loser St’ would be a tempting target too, to put near friends’ doors. It is so frustrating not knowing what your ‘vaguely cool’ street is. Any clues? Does it involve drugs, perchance?

People steal the street sign in my street every few weeks. Every time TAMS replaces it, it disappears again. Reason: street name sounds vaguely cool, and no doubt teens think it would be a great addition on their wall alongside Justin Bieber or Timberlake posters or whatever the hell youngins idolise these days. (I won’t say what the street name is because the less scrupulous among you may wish to also add my street sign to your collection).

The obvious solution to the problem is to lobby the powers that be to change the name to something less tempting, like ‘Loser St’, but i doubt they’ll go for it. I guess eventually, once all the bogan teens of Canberra have a copy of the street sign, demand will be exhausted and they’ll move on to coveting another street.

WilliamZ said :

I suggest that the problem with the roadsigns is a “sign” of a much deeper and systemic problem on how the ACT does its policing. It basically is a reactive force rather than preventative. I never see cars patrolling, particularly in high crime areas. I never have once seen the police on foot or bike.

There’s a wall of separation between the police and the community. They will respond to your burglary, eventually…in a few hours, maybe more, maybe a lot more. But do they actually prevent crimes?

The Antichrist said :

WilliamZ said :

I never see cars patrolling, particularly in high crime areas. I never have once seen the police on foot or bike.

There’s a wall of separation between the police and the community. They will respond to your burglary, eventually…in a few hours, maybe more, maybe a lot more. But do they actually prevent crimes?

You don’t spend much time driving around Charnwood, or walking past the Moose at 2am on a Fri/Sat night do ya mate ?

The only wall of seperation here is between your view of life and the real world.

+1

Talk to a taxi driver, or courier, and ask them how often they see police out on the roads. I’m sure they’d have a very different story to your average office worker, who drives to and from work every day.

Fortunately for most of us, the work the police do is largely invisible. Personally, I’m happy for it to stay that way.

I applaud those who deface the old wooden mission brown coloured sign in Cook. Always brings a childish smile to my face when sitting at the lights waiting to go!

WilliamZ said :

I suggest that the problem with the roadsigns is a “sign” of a much deeper and systemic problem on how the ACT does its policing. It basically is a reactive force rather than preventative. I never see cars patrolling, particularly in high crime areas. I never have once seen the police on foot or bike.

There’s a wall of separation between the police and the community. They will respond to your burglary, eventually…in a few hours, maybe more, maybe a lot more. But do they actually prevent crimes?

Police do nothing really. The crooks hand themselves in.

But do they actually prevent crimes?

No. No police patrol has ever prevented a crime.

WilliamZ said :

I never see cars patrolling, particularly in high crime areas. I never have once seen the police on foot or bike.

There’s a wall of separation between the police and the community. They will respond to your burglary, eventually…in a few hours, maybe more, maybe a lot more. But do they actually prevent crimes?

You don’t spend much time driving around Charnwood, or walking past the Moose at 2am on a Fri/Sat night do ya mate ?

The only wall of seperation here is between your view of life and the real world.