Route Inspection

I went out today to do my monthly route inspection. Unfortunately, there were a few issues to be dealt with…

First some minor maintenance on the two signs on Charlock Road in Thetford. Someone had vandalised the signs by pealing away part of the direction arrow at the bottom. The rest of each sign was fine, so it just needed a new arrow adding:

Next, the sign at the eastern end of King Street in Thetford town centre was missing completely, so I put up a new sign to replace it. This isn’t the first time I’ve needed to repair this sign, which isn’t that surprising given its location. A permanent sign would be better here.

Then, everything was fine until I got to the edge of Brandon. There, two signs attached to railing posts at the top of the cycleway into the estate had been removed by someone for the second time. I replaced these again. The options for signing this junction are not ideal, and we could really do with a permanent sign-post here.

Once in the estate, I noted a couple of locations where a confirmation sign would be beneficial, so I added these. The first east-bound on Downham Way, and the second east-bound on St Benedict’s Way.

Finally, I added a south-bound confirmation sign on the cycle-path between Brandon and Weeting, to mirror the existing south-bound sign.

I also added a number of new signs along the route through Weeting, which you can read about in the next post.

Final Signs for Route 30

I went out today to put up the final few signs on my section of Route 30 between Thetford and Weeting.

First, two confirmation signs in Santon Downham:

Then replacing a couple of signs that had been removed at the top of the cycle path on the way in to Brandon:

Then a few confirmation signs through the estate:

And some rigid rigid plastic signs at the changes of direction:

Finally a pair of rigid plastic signs at the junction with Gashouse drove, and two confirmation signs half-way along it:

With the exception of a few places where an additional confirmation sign may be useful, my section of Route 30 should now be fully signed.

Green Lane Work

I went out put up a couple missing signs this evening and also took the opportunity to cut back some branches and brambles that were encroaching on the path.

I put up two new signs: one to stop riders turning right off green lane into Thetford Garden Centre, and the second as a confirmation sign after turning right on to Kilverstone Road:

More Signs and Equipment

I’ve just had my third delivery of temporary signs. This time including a batch of rigid plastic signs for attaching to concrete lamp-posts, wooden posts, and other places where the self-adhesive signs are no good.

I’ve also purchased a pack of cable ties and some galvanised (non-rust) nails for attaching them. Hopefully I’ve now got enough signs to complete the signing of my section of the Route 30, along with enough spares for ongoing maintenance work.

Santon Downham and Brandon Signing

I’ve now completed most of the signing for the new part of Regional Route 30 through Santon Downham and Brandon.

First the section through Santon Downham. The official Sustrans map routes cyclists along a private road, so I’ve instead signed users along the public roads past the church:

 

Secondly in Brandon through the housing estate. First around the turn-off from the Santon Downham Road:

Then weaving through the estate:

A few gaps remain where there was no suitable existing street furniture to attach the self-adhesive signs to. Most locations have concrete posts that would be suitable for rigid signs attached with cable ties. For example:

And then Gashouse Drove and the turning on to Brandon High Street:

Finally a special sign for the approach to Brandon level crossing from the north. None of the simple direction arrows gave the correct impression of the turn ahead, so I constructed my own:

Route Inspection and More Signing

I set off for a route inspection and some more signing this afternoon.

First a few confirmation signs added to the road going north through Croxton, and a sign at the A134 for those travelling east:

 

Then it was on to the new section through Santon Downham and Brandon, which was completely unsigned. I added a pair of signs at the turning with Harling Drove, and a pair at the level crossing:

 

I’m still waiting for confirmation on the exact route through Santon Downham, as part of the route currently shown on the official map is signed on the ground as a private road. So that bit will have to wait for another day. The best I could do for now was to add a pair of signs when entering and leaving the village:

 

There’s another stretch through Brandon that needs confirmation, since the map doesn’t show what I thought the new agreed route would be. At the Santon side, I could only add a sign on the Santon Road leaving Brandon:

Back on Brandon High street, we have the following signs going north (some of which replace previous station link signs):

 

And the following signs going south:

Finally, we have the junction at Weeting, where changes were needed to the existing signing. There’s a permanent sign which needed some subtle alterations:

In addition to this, going north / west cyclists will see:

And going east / south we have:

Green Lane Pruning

I’d previously noticed that there was quite a bit of vegetation encroaching onto the off-road section of Green Lane in Thetford. So I spend an hour or so cutting back overhanging branches and bit of bushes that were growing over the path. I think it’s a lot better now.