Replacing yellow 'unmanned' discs - comments?

[teddington_lock]

Re: Replacing yellow \'unmanned\' discs - comments?

Vandals are indeed a common problem at some sites.

Maybe there would be people around at some of the more urban locks on the lower Thames , but middle and upper have some very isolated locks , with a high density of crims in the local areas ...

The signs are usually facing up or down river , so the crim would probably not be able to see them.

I'd like to think i was capable of spotting someone likely to vandalise the lock , and if they started asking about what sign meant what , or if it meant that no one was on site , i think i could probably give him a meaningless answer ..

For all the crim knows it might just be letting the boaters know that there is going to be a lovely sunset that night ....

 

[jecuk]

Re: Replacing yellow \'unmanned\' discs - comments?

[ QUOTE ]
A sign saying whether a lock keeper is in attendance is not necessary, specially with the spread of public power. You get to a lock, tie up in the layby walk up to the lock and... operate the lock yourself if there is no lock keeper. Why do we need to be told? What effect does it have other than encouraging people to moor in lock layby's?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, let's ban mobile phones and other developments as well.

How can this be a bad thing? I like to know if I need to moor up on a particular part of a layby (the Marlow layby island for example or do I have to go to the head of the lock) and also whether I should perhaps use the time to have my lunch or work the lock myself.

The major problem I have found is that they are often hard to see until you are tied up or worse. That is a bigger issue than the colour to my (admittedly) still fairly young eyes.

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Replacing yellow \'unmanned\' discs - comments?

[ QUOTE ]

Don't think there are any agency signs on the Thames that are written in anything other than English ? I may be wrong ...

[/ QUOTE ]

O yes there are, here's an extract from the 'Leccy Lock operating notice("OOHPPI"":-

Press ONCE the ‘OPEN SLUICES’ button.
and again
Press ONCE the ‘CLOSE SLUICES’ button.
repeated for both sets of gates

English, she, wasn't the writers' first language perhaps

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Replacing yellow \'unmanned\' discs - comments?

Sure, the system is not perfect, but to my mind the "old" system had too many imperfections.
<ul type="square">
The blue signs were often not used on placed where you could only see them if you went up to the lock.
If you go up to the lock "just to see", some lockies take exception (perhaps feeling that the boater is making a negative comment). Happened to me.
If the lock is apparently unmanned and you push the buttons, you risk a bollocking from the lockie if in fact he was on duty. Happened to me again.
Folk don't realise that if the lock is in attended mode, then an inexperienced user can cause havoc (that was the reason for the preceding remonstration).
Some lockies / other boaters take exception if you sit on a layby for luncheon, or can't be fagged to operate the Lock yourself...
[/list]

So the signs are an improvement, even if the need some "adjustment".

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Re: Replacing yellow \'unmanned\' discs - comments?

Red: river on red
Yellow: river on yellow
2 black balls: lock not under command or any other traditional interpretation of the sign.

simple enough.