Council Votes to Replace All Road Signs With "Inspirational Quotes" to Cut Printing Costs

In a landmark cost-cutting measure that has been described by the Leader of the Council as "bold, visionary, and almost certainly not a sackable offence," Bedford Borough Council voted 19–8 last Tuesday to replace all existing road signage with laminated A4 prints featuring motivational phrases sourced from a 2009 desk calendar purchased at a closing-down sale in Newnham Avenue.

The move is expected to save the council an estimated £340,000 over the next five years, a figure that the Director of Highways described as "transformative," before clarifying that he was quoting from one of the new signs he had accidentally left on his chair.

The scheme, piloted on a single junction on the A6 last month, received what a council spokesperson described as "broadly neutral feedback," which is to say that no one was seriously hurt and the online petition against it has only reached 4,200 signatures, "which is actually fewer than the one about the car park lighting in Kempston."

Phase one will cover all roundabouts within the Bedford town boundary. Signs will read, among other things, "Dream big," "The best view comes after the hardest climb," and, at the Cauldwell Street junction: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," which the council's Road Safety Officer has asked to be reviewed.

The eight dissenting councillors issued a joint statement describing the scheme as "an act of collective administrative hubris that risks actual human lives," though three of them admitted privately that "You've got this!" at the St Mary's Street exit had briefly made them feel better about their commute.

A full roll-out to Central Bedfordshire roads is under consideration. Dunstable, where a roundabout already features a mosaic, is understood to be "broadly in favour" of the concept, subject to a consultation that is expected to run for between 18 and 47 months.

The council's next scheduled meeting will consider a proposal to replace all street lighting with "positive affirmations projected from a single high-powered beam on the Higgins museum roof." No date has been set for the impact assessment.