Where the streets have no names getting harder to find

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

Vehicle brands are one of the more popular street signs to be stolen.

Street sign theft costs taxpayers about a $1 million per year but the toll of replacing the misappropriated markers is dwindling.

In the past three years the cost of repair, replacing or realigning signs covered by the national road manager has dropped from $3.25 million in 2014 to $993,664 in 2016 - a reduction of $2.26 million.

The trend has continued in the Waikato with a $542,027 decrease in the same period.

An official information act request from NZTA and Hamilton City Council showed the cost but neither agency would reveal the most commonly swiped street names.

*Poppy nicked from commemorative street sign

*Replica street signs as red-zone souvenirs**

Anecdotally last names are a favourite, along with streets associated with popular vehicle brands such as Holden.

But double entendres are always a target with Swallow Lane also a perennial favourite, possibly among ornithologists of ill-repute.

Street sign stealing isn't just a New Zealand problem with the Austrian village of F***ing a popular target for road souvenir hunting tourists until the village made their sign theft-resistant in 2005.

The ownership of signs is shared with the New Zealand Transport agency, which looks after the state highway network, and local councils who monitor such things as street name plates, parking signs, and bylaw signs.

The Hamilton City Council currently has 14,309 signs in its inventory with replacement and repairs managed by Infrastructure Alliance on behalf of the council.

The cost to the council to repair and replace street signs each year is approximately $400,000, Shaun Peterson, Infrastructure Alliance operations manager said.

About 70-80 per cent of this cost is due to vehicle damage and vandalism.

'Without an eye-witness account or something similar – say video footage or a photograph, we can't categorically state which street signs go missing or are vandalised. So we don't record an exact street sign vandalism cost annually.'

The ones that go missing more often are either a person's name, a popular motor vehicle brand or a word that has a double meaning, Peterson said.

'We are working hard to reduce these costs by such methods as using putting signs high up on street lights, removing redundant signs and combining signs on poles where possible. We also look at options such as road marking rather than warning signs.'

If there is an occasion that police catch a street sign offender in the act, they are required to reimburse the council, Peterson said.

As for state highways the NZTA do regular inspections of the network and also have people phoning in to inform them if a sign has been vandalised or needing repair said Karen Boyt, manager of NZTA Waikato Highways.

'Vandalising the signs creates a risk to the public. These signs are in place for a reason and if people can't read them it creates a hazard.'

The sign marking the small Bay of Plenty settlement of Omaio has caused the NZTA the most grief in the past three years, needing to be replaced three times after going missing.

Signs for Te Kaha in the Bay of Plenty, Makorori in Gisborne and Maxwell in Manawatu-Whanganui have all been replaced twice for the same reason.

What it costs us:

National NZTA figures:

In 2014 There were 1084 graffiti instances costing $82,144.32

There were 9341 realign instances costing $750,902.61

There were 10204 replaced signs costing $2,423,431.04

Total $3,256,477.97

In 2015 There were 750 graffiti instances costing $53,181.35

There were 11813 realign instances costing $1,029,363.38

There were 8251 replaced signs costing $1,591,100.35

There were 5 vandalism costing $1340.75

Total $2,674,985.83

In 2016 There was 743 graffiti instances costing $44,029.24

There were 10304 realign instances costing $476,921.67

There were 2368 replaced signs costing $403,101.39

There were 370 vandalism costing $69,612.24

Total $993,664.54

NZTA figures for the Waikato:

In 2014 there were 1753 signs replaced at a cost of $474,226.81. There were 64 graffiti instances at a cost of $3173.10. There were 2073 realign costing $117,073.23. A total of 594, 513.14

In 2015 they replaced 567 signs costing $124,962.33. There were 82 graffiti instances $4191.00. There were 1138 realign costing $64,599.25. A total of $193,752.58

In 2016 there were 9 signs vandalised at a cost of $1600. There were 88 replaced at a cost of $8,840. There were 119 graffiti at a cost of $1196. There were 2019 realign at $40,850. A total of $52,486

In 2017 until 10 May 2 signs were vandalised at a cost of $115 none had been replaced 47 had graffiti at a cost of $433.50 and 199 were realign at a cost of $2995. A total of $3543.50.