NEW electronic signs to enforce local speed limits and warn of possible hazards will be appearing on roads in the district before the end of March. They will be joined by variable message signs advising people about local parking. Both types of sign will

NEW electronic signs to enforce local speed limits and warn of possible hazards will be appearing on roads in the district before the end of March.

They will be joined by variable message signs advising people about local parking.

Both types of sign will be installed by Herts Highways in the coming weeks in response to issues raised locally.

St Albans District Council is particularly keen to see the introduction of variable message signs to direct motorists to car parks in the city centre with spaces.

Vehicle activated signs which light up when a vehicle approaches and display a warning about the speed limit or possible hazards such as a crossing point or a junction are being installed on Pickford Road/Friendless Lane in Markyate and the B487 in Redbourn Lane.

Variable message signs will be installed in six different locations around the city centre.

They will be at the junctions of St Peter's Street and Hall Place Gardens, Hatfield Road and Stanhope Road, Victoria Street and Ridgmont Road, London Road and Old London Road, Holywell Hill and Griffiths Way and Verulam Road and Oysterfields.

Stuart Pile, the county council's executive member for highways, said: "Electronic signs which remind drivers to slow down or give them information about parking in towns are a very useful addition to the range of measures that help to protect road users and keep traffic moving on our roads."

He added: "Research so far shows that signs that light up and tell you to slow down have a definite traffic-calming effect, partly because they stand out from other kinds of signage."

l A city-centre pelican crossing will be out of operation for at least 12 days while it is refurbished.

Work will begin on the crossing in Catherine Street, St Albans, near Church Street, on Monday and it will remain out of use until Friday, March 20.

During the refurbishment, the footway will need to be closed but temporary traffic management will be put in place so pedestrians can safely pass the works.