Last week we told you that the Shanghai local government was considering removing English from road signs.
The Shanghai Road Administration Bureau have been ramping up efforts to improve traffic services around the city, and division chief Wang Weifeng said that English on road signs is 'not quite useful' for drivers. (He argued that removing the English on signs can allow for Chinese characters to be enlarged, thus making them more recognizable to drivers).
The local government is asking residents to put the question to the vote by the end of this month, when they'll make their final decision. But as we mentioned last week, the poll they've put online is all in Chinese.
Want to vote in the poll? Below, we've translated each of the questions and answers into English so that you can have your say.
Keep in mind that the survey is mainly targeted at those who drive cars and other vehicles in Shanghai. You'll only really need to answer Question Six to vote to keep English on the signs, however the survey requires that you answer all questions before submitting.
1. How long have you lived in Shanghai?
A. 5 years or less
B. 5-15 years
C. 15-25 years
D. 25 years or more
2. Do you drive often in the city?
A. I drive a few times every day.
B. I drive a few times every week.
C. I drive a few times every month.
D. I almost never drive.
3. When you are driving to somewhere you don’t know very well, what do you do? (You can select multiple responses for this question).
A. I look up the way beforehand, and use the signs on the road.
B. I don’t look up the way beforehand; I use GPS or a smartphone to find my way.
C. I ask other people.
D. Others: ____________
4. When you are driving on the highway, do you find it hard to figure out your current location or directions?
A. No.
B. I sometimes lose sight of directions and get out of the wrong exit.
C. I often lose sight of directions and get out of the wrong exit.
5. Shanghai’s road signs have two versions depending on specific situations...
Version 1: The way it currently is, which includes names of the current road and the intersecting roads.
[Key: 1) upcoming road, 2) roads to the left and right, 3) cross street, 4) geographic direction — north, south, east or west, 5) street numbers of cross street]
Version 2: Uses the same information, and adds the name of the road you are currently on.
Your opinion is (Multiple responses possible):
A. I agree with Version 1.
B. I agree with Version 2.
C. I have another suggestion:______________
6. Currently, Shanghai’s road signs all have Chinese and English, like shown in version 1. Most of the English versions road names and names of places are in pinyin, but they are not used very much. If the simultaneous use of Chinese and English was abolished, the size of the road signs could be reduced, or enlarge the size of Chinese characters on the signs, making them more readable.
Version 1: Chinese and English used
Version 2: No English
With regards to the simultaneous use of Chinese and English, your opinion is...
A. Use both Chinese and English only for the major tourist areas, commercial areas, important international venues, transportation hubs, etc. and delete English for the rest.
B. Delete English everywhere.
C. Leave the English everywhere.
D. I have another suggestion: ____________
7. The information on the road signs usually include one intersecting road, and a farther road or place name. According to international standards, the information about the nearer place goes on top, and farther places go at the bottom. However, currently in Shanghai, the conventional practice is to put the farther places on top and the nearer ones at the bottom (as shown in Figure 1), and thus inconsistent with the international standards.
Figure 1:
If you start from the intersection of Zhaojiabang Lu and South Ruijin Er Lu (at the bottom of this image), and head towards Xujiahui (at the top, in the blue box), the closer place would be Shaanxi Nan Lu, the further place would be Xujiahui. As for the order of showing this information on the road signs, there are two types to choose from. Your choice would be...
A. I agree with Version 1, which leaves the signs as they are now. Place the farther places at the top and nearer places at the bottom, as they are shown on maps, like so:
B. I agree with Version 2; change the signs to be consistent with international standards. Design them according to how we’d read the information, placing nearer places at the top and farther ones at the bottom.
C. I have another suggestion: _____________
8. With regards to expressways, it has been suggested that their names be placed at the entrance to the interchange and other appropriate places at the main roads. The signs for the names of main expressways could include the speed limits, act as signs for motorways, or as subsidiary signs and so forth. Besides adding the names of the expressways, do you think information about directions should be added?
Version 1: Add names of the expressways, but not the directions.
Version 2: Add the names of the expressways, and the directions as well (Ed. note: we've highlighted using red boxes):
Your opinion is...
A. I agree with Version 1.
B. I agree with Version 2.
C. No need to add names of the expressways to the signs.
D. I have another suggestion: _________________
9. To preserve the three-tier system of road signs in Shanghai, which includes a forewarning sign, a notice sign, and a confirmation sign, it has been suggested to put a new sign at the intersection that tells you what street you're currently on or about to be on if you continue driving straight. This sign will be put at the intersections, exits and general transportation facilities, and will appear on the pole. This will help with the current problem when names of streets change after the intersection. (For example, Siping Lu becomes Wusong Lu, Jiyang Lu becomes Puxing Gong Lu).
A. I agree to add this sign.
B. This sign is not necessary.
C. I have another suggestion: _________________
10. Street signs include names of upcoming intersections, intersection street names and the three-tiered recognition signs. Shanghai road signs currently inform drivers of upcoming intersections and the name of the intersecting street. But other recognition signs are missing, and it has been proposed to increase the recognition signs to include things like highway number and distance.
Your opinion is...
A. I agree to add this sign.
B. This sign is not necessary.
C. I have another suggestion: _________________
11. Direction is put on signs on the elevated roads at turning points in order to help drivers recognize street names and exits and drive in the right direction. It is recommended to add geographic directions (i.e. East, South, West, North and other information) to improve the layout. These are the options to choose from...
Current version (no change):
Option 1: Include geographic direction next to the highway name (Ed. note: we've highlighted using red boxes):
Option 2: Include geographic direction above the highway name:
A. I prefer Option 1.
B. I prefer Option 2.
C. Keep the current version (no change).
D. I have another suggestion.
12. To let drivers on the elevated roads know the direction they're heading in, it's been proposed to add new information on the signs, including upcoming places or street names as well as the main parts of the city they're driving towards. For example, on the S20 Outer Ring Expressway, drivers can know if they're heading towards Hongqiao Airport & Station, Xinzhuang, the East China Sea Bridge and the Pudong International Airport, as shown below (Ed. note: we've highlighted using red boxes).
Your opinion is...
A. I agree.
B. I have another suggestion: _________________
13. The G1501 Shanghai Speedway Ring will show drivers which major Shanghai city desinations and nearby cities they are heading towards, including Pudong Airport, Donghai Bridge, Jinshan, Jiaxing, Anting and Baoshan district, as shown below.
When the northeast corner is open to traffic, it will also show directions for Jiaohuan Boulevard, as shown below.
Your opinion is...
A. I agree.
B. I have another suggestion: _________________
14. Do you have any other suggestions to improve road signs? (Fill in the box).
At the end of the poll, you'll be asked to enter an automatically generated CAPTCHA code (case sensitive). To get your code, click the white box on the left and then enter the characters you see that appear next to it. When you've finished entering that, click the blue button on the right to submit.
[Main image via Asisbiz]
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