busy high street or a wide suburban road, a larger x—height, such as 25 mm, is likely to be required unless the sign has high target value. The largest size of 40mm x—height should be used where a sign needs to be made more conspicuous in areas where there are background distractions and perhaps where the sign is mounted at the back of the footway. Where two separate signs are mounted together at a point where parking controls change, they should both have the same x—height.
7.48 The "parking place" sign to diagram 801 is prescribed in six sizes, ranging from 250 mm square to 1000 mm square. The larger sizes are used for lay—bays and parking areas on high—speed roads. The three smallest sizes of 250 mm, 375 mm and 500 mm are used for on—street parking places and, where appropriate, should be mounted above a vehicle—type supplementary plate (diagram 804.1, 804.2, 804.3 or 804.4) of the same width. The "bus parking place" sign to diagram 969 is also prescribed with widths of 250 mm, 375 mm and 500 mm. Sign size will depend on location and the amount of background distraction. In narrow roads the smallest size should be adequate, but for wide roads or where signs are mounted at the back of the footway a larger sign might be required. Larger signs might also be appropriate where parking is provided in an area separate from the main carriageway, such as in the centre of a town square.
7.49 On—street parking and loading signs are normally erected parallel to the kerb, facing the carriageway. Where conspicuity is not compromised, signs may be mounted at the back of the footway on posts, walls or railings to minimise street clutter. This is also likely to be preferable where the footway is narrow. In environmentally sensitive areas where the post is sited at the back of the footway, consideration might be given to painting it a similar colour to the adjacent building (direction 41 allows a post to be any single colour, including its natural colour).
7.50 Signs should be provided at approximately 30 m intervals, i.e. half the distance recommended for signs indicating a prohibition of waiting (see para 6.34). As white bay markings denote a place where a driver might be able to park, information about the permitted parking is required at more frequent intervals, particularly where the bay marking does not have any legend to indicate the type of user. The first sign should be no more than 15 m from the end of the bay. Where the length of the bay is less than 30 m, a sign mounted at the mid—point should therefore be sufficient (but see para 7.51). Where the road marking to diagram 1032 or 1033 is used, it is not necessary to provide a sign for each individual space. The whole run of parking spaces should be treated as a single bay for the purposes of signing (i.e. signs should be placed at approximately 30 m intervals). It should be noted that the start and end of a parking bay to either diagram 1032 or 1033 is marked with a double transverse line, and that individual spaces within the bay are marked with a single transverse line. The upright signs apply to the whole length of the bay between the double transverse lines at each end. To minimise the possibility of driver confusion, wherever practicable the intermediate signs should be sited in line with the single transverse lines to emphasise that a particular sign does not apply to a single parking space.
7.51 Where two different parking bays are side by side (e.g. a loading bay adjacent to a disabled badge holder bay), consideration should be given to mounting two signs side by side, preferably on a grey backing board, at the changeover point. Each sign should include an arrow pointing in the direction of the respective bay. This should minimise the risk of drivers parking in the wrong bay by mistake and incurring a penalty. Where the assembly would not be too tall, the signs could be mounted one above the other. The sign with the left—pointing arrow should be at the top.
7.52 Where a footway has vehicle crossovers serving private accesses, it is preferable to terminate parking bays at each crossover to avoid the possibility of parked vehicles blocking vehicular access to adjacent property. However, as the Directions require that each bay has an upright sign, this could lead to a proliferation of signs where each individual property has a crossover. A possible solution might be to provide a continuous bay along the length of the road and to mark each crossover with the advisory "keep clear" marking to diagram 1026.1. Another possibility would be to consider whether the type of signing described in para 7.15 is appropriate.
SUSPENSION OF A PARKING OR LOADING BAY
7.53 Where it is required to suspend a parking or loading bay, e.g. to enable works to be carried out, a temporary sign should be provided. These are not prescribed by the Regulations, other than for parking meters (see para 6.30), and guidance should therefore be sought from the Department.
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