Sir, – Generally speaking, it is fair to say that high-quality road markings are not exactly seen as a priority in Ireland. Yellow lines, central white lines, traffic islands and other road markings are often barely visible, and this seems to be acceptable to many local authorities. But go to Britain or continental Europe and one is struck by standards which are so much higher. Back in April a new type of road marking appeared in pedestrian areas, in the form of a graphic showing two human forms distanced two metres apart. It was a powerful way of jogging people into realising that we are living in the midst of a pandemic, when staying two metres apart is an excellent and essential way of containing the spread of infection.
However, in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown local authority area (and I suspect elsewhere too), this excellent reminder has now been worn away as, for example, on the promenade at Sandycove. What remains is a faded image that communicates the message that the pandemic is now a distant memory, something not important enough to be heeded anymore. Surely this is the time to get the stencil out again and issue a fresh reminder that the coronavirus pandemic is still with us? – Yours, etc,
DERMOTT BARRETT,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.