True, this has already led to a heated discussion about how much it will cost all taxpayers. It is estimated that changing one sign can cost up to 200 euros.
The Ministry of Transport itself doubts the implementation of such an idea. According to its specialists, the politicians’ proposal is unsustainable and short-term.
You want to see different road signs
Several conservatives in the Seimas recently approached the aforementioned ministry with a proposal to change the current Soviet-designed road signs.
According to politicians, the graphic design and font of the road signs used in Lithuania are the same or similar to the road signs used in Russia, Belarus and other post-Soviet countries.
Latvia and Estonia have already changed the graphic design of road signs and use different fonts, according to politicians.
“Lithuania has been for more than 30 years. not only identifies itself with the Western world, but is also a part of it. We do not associate our identity with the states stuck in the post-Soviet space, which were part of the USSR, even more so with Russia or Belarus,” commented A. Vyšniauskas, one of the initiators of the idea at the time.
According to him, in the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine and against the entire democratic Western world, all connections with the criminal authoritarian regimes of Russia and Belarus should be terminated.
“However, after crossing the Lithuanian-Russian or Lithuanian-Belarusian borders, we are greeted by the same or very similar Soviet standard road signs with the same Soviet font.
We are able to remove Soviet boulders from city squares, move soldiers’ cemeteries, it is time to abandon these Soviet relics as well”, commented A. Vyšniauskas, one of the initiators of the idea at the time.
Ministry: Such an idea is short-lived and unsustainable
However, in a comment sent to the news portal tv3.lt, the representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Communications stated that Lithuania was already in 1991. November 20 joined the Road Traffic Convention and the Road Signs and Signals Convention.
In this way, our state is said to have undertaken to ensure that both of them must comply with the provisions of our laws, Road Traffic Rules (KET).
“The road signs and their images currently established by the KET correspond to the road signs and their images provided for in the convention (shape, color, meaning, purpose, etc.)” – noted the representatives of the ministry.
They are reminded that in 2024 The representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have completed the preparation of updates of road sign images (design of signs, colors, used text, numbers, symbols, their arrangement, etc.) used in the Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
“The final document will be presented to the states for consideration in 2024. in September. Considering this, the Ministry of Transport believes that changing the design of road signs not according to the amendments of the Convention, but according to the examples of other countries, would lack a legal basis and would be unsustainable and short-term.
<...> After the Traffic Safety Working Group WP.1 of the UNECE Internal Transport Committee approves the proposed amendments to the Convention, the Ministry of Transport will start preparing relevant amendments to the KET and the rules for the installation of road signs and vertical marking, and the change in the design of road signs will have a legal basis and will comply with the latest amendments to the Convention”, says the ministry’s comment sent to the news portal tv3.lt.
Changing one road sign is about 200 euros
A. Vyšniauskas himself, who came up with the idea of changing the road signs, said that he could not say exactly how many of them should be changed in the next 10 years.
“There are quite a lot of different, specific road signs, but the Ministry’s specialists and experts who deal with it should take a close look and tell.
The team and I have looked at some of the most commonly used ones [kelio ženklus – aut. past.). Manau, kad didžiausias skirtumas yra pastebimas tuose kelio ženkluose, kurie turi šiaip daug visokių dizaino elementų, kur yra daugiau detalių – ar [atvaizduojamas – aut. past.] an animal or a person – that’s where those differences become apparent,” commented the politician.
So, if his idea were to be implemented, roads would have newly designed road signs that warn of pedestrians, wild animals or announce the installation of a pedestrian crossing. It is true that the list of such road signs could increase after the experts’ conclusions.
A. Vyšniauskas wondered why the ministry assures that such a proposal is short-term.
“The convention basically defines that road signs must be similar all over the world. If there is an arrow, then everywhere that arrow must point in the same direction, there must be the same category of signs and so on.
But as we can see from the examples of other countries, the definition of road signs is quite different, that is, the design is different. So the convention says that the marks must be similar, but each country can set its own design standard. And we see that in the West they use different fonts, different designs, and we follow the Soviet design model. To tell the truth, I don’t really understand the position of the ministry,” the politician wondered.
At that time, the Ministry of Transport calculates that the installation of one standard road sign can cost the state 200 euros or even more on average.
“The installation of one standard road sign costs 200 euros on average. This price includes the road sign panel, supporting structure, installation of the road sign.
It goes without saying that depending on the dimensions of the road sign, the complexity of the supporting structure, and the installation costs, the price may be higher,” representatives of the ministry told the tv3.lt news portal.
Around 12 road signs can be counted near the Seimas alone (on Gediminas Avenue) indicating the pedestrian crossing. At that time, there were about 20 such signs on the side of A. Tumėnos Street, which is also near the Seimas Palace.
Thus, changing such road signs to a new design could cost the state, i.e. the residents, thousands, and if we were to calculate on the scale of Lithuania as a whole, millions of euros.
Currently, the letter initiated by the members of the Seimas to the Ministry of Transport indicates that, in order to change the design of road signs from the Soviet Union, it is necessary to create road signs with their own graphic design, close or similar to the road signs used in EU countries.
According to the members of the Seimas, these changes could be implemented within the next 10 years, as most of the road signs in the country are basically updated during that time.
Members of the Seimas note that this initiative is not new and that it comes up all the time, but the Ministry of Transport has not taken the initiative so far.
