By DAISY SAMPSON & PAULO SILVESTRE [email protected]
A solid white line that has been painted down the centre of the main street in Almancil has left drivers confused as a lack of adequate signage is blamed for traffic infractions.
The solid white line, which prohibits any driver from turning across it to the other side of the road to access businesses and junctions, was added around six weeks ago and since then local business owners have noticed confusion among drivers in the town.
Linda Taylor Gonçalves from the Griffin Bookshop said: “Once again Loulé Câmara has excelled itself. Although the dastardly road works have been suspended until the end of summer, a kindly traffic planner has had a solid white line painted down the middle of the road, which will ultimately continue straight through to the ‘high street’ in Almancil. This means you can’t turn left anywhere without risking a €120 fine.”
Tony Elwood from Penguin Air Conditioning said: “Lots of people continue to cross over the white line, which already is becoming hard to see as it is fading, while there are no signs to say “no left turn” which adds to the confusion.
“It seems sort of bonkers to me that there are no real instructions for drivers who either have always been used to crossing the road or are new to the area and didn’t understand how they can cross the road leading to people being stopped by the police.”
Tony Elwood added: “I don’t see this latest change to the road system stopping people from coming to businesses here but, to be honest, I don’t understand why this is needed as it is hardly Piccadilly Circus here, even during August.”
A spokesman from Apolónia supermarket in Almancil said: “The line runs from Vale d’Éguas to the centre of Almancil and although it holds back the traffic a little bit because people are not used to it, it does not cause us any problems,” he added.
A spokesman from Loulé Câmara told the Algarve Resident: “We placed this line to avoid left turns and constructed more roundabouts to help the traffic flow. “Left turns in roads are the main cause of minor accidents and this will help to avoid such incidents. People can use the roundabouts as an alternative. They are only 500 metres from each other.”
