Where do they measure the road signs from?
please help as you can tell it has started driving me nuts
Answers:
I wanted to know the answer to this exact same question so I wrote and asked the AA. This is the explanation they gave me.
As you might expect there is not a straightforward answer to this. In general terms the centre points of towns were determined decades ago, and were often based on town halls or other prominent central landmarks. However, as far as I am aware there was not a strict criteria for selection, and the landmarks chosen were done so on individual merits. These were then used for signposting purposes and have largely remained unchanged.
To begin with the same points were used for creating mileage charts in atlases and other publications. However, as more and more publishers have arrived on the scene, the central points used have varied from one publisher to the next. So, whereas in the past the centre of London was officially considered to be Marble Arch, some atlases now locate it at Hyde Park Corner, some at Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross, and many satellite navigation systems have it in Whitehall.
From the AA’s point of view we have historically chosen the town centre as being the strategic point where the major ‘feeder’ roads converge (which was almost invariably in the very centre). However, as town centres are often now pedestrianised, and are served by ring roads and bypasses, the criteria has become slightly more vague. We can only generate a mileage to a point that is on a fully accessible road. The easiest way to see what we have chosen as the central location is to calculate a route on the AA Route Planner (www.theAA.com) to the town in question, and you will be taken directly to the chosen point.
I am sorry I cannot be any more specific, but I hope the above is of some help.
Kind regards
David Arnold
Manager AA Geographic Information Databases
distances between towns are measured from GPO to GPO
Its always from a spot in the centre of the town or city.
I hate it when it says 30 mile to destination the next sign says 30 miles.. this happens on more rural roads..
Its usually to the city centre which they class as the road called High Street. And just as a little known point, did you know the salvation army make most of britains road signs?
Its different in different countries. In most British colonies where the Brits built the railways, and formalised the road signages etc, the distances were, and still are, measured from the railway junction. This is because that is one thing that is least likely to be shifted around. I believe US also follows the same system.
Some towns/ cities, however, use major landmarks as reference - the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Big Ben in London etc. Public facilities like libraries, post offices etc. are generally not used as reference, since they might get relocated over time.
Traditionally, the distances between towns were measured either to a major political building (fort/ castle) or religious building(church/mosque/temple).
I too wanted to know the answer to this very question, so I wrote to the RAC! Here is my reply.
"Dear Mr XXXXXXXXXXXXX
We thank you for you enquiry, however we would recommed that you contact the AA
Yours Sincerelly"
Charming!
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