Brief Summary (Guidance Section 2.1)

Review of Primary Destinations for trunk road signing

The Primary Route Network (PRN) designates roads between places of traffic importance across the UK, with the aim of providing easily identifiable routes to access the whole of the country. The PRN is constructed from a series of locations (Primary Destinations), which are linked by roads (Primary Routes). The determination of the PRN in Scotland is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers, as defined by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD).

In a letter issued in May 2019 to all Scottish local authorities, Transport Scotland confirmed that the PRN in Scotland should be aligned with the trunk road network.

Transport Scotland proposes to revise the list of Primary Destinations identified for consistently signing the trunk road network in Scotland.

The list of Primary Destinations is used to inform what is presented on PRN (trunk road) direction signs. It is emphasised that omission from the list of Primary Destinations does not prevent a location from being signed on or from the trunk road network. However it does prevent it from being identified as a “target destination” on the trunk road network, i.e. the forward destination identified at the top of a trunk road sign.

Figure 1 illustrates a typical PRN direction sign (green background), showing how the identification of a Primary Destination affects what is included on the sign. The target destination, displayed at the top, will be identified for each route or section of route, and will always be a destination that is listed as a Primary Destination. Intermediate forward destinations may or may not be listed as Primary Destinations, but Primary Destinations will be prioritised. Side road destinations may or may not be from the list of Primary Destinations, though where the side road is a trunk road it would be normal for the target destination on that route to be displayed.

Note that what is displayed on a non-primary route direction sign (white background) is not defined by the list of Primary Destinations.

Figure 1: Photos of directions signs showing how Primary Destinations relate to these, as described in the text above
Figure 1: Photos of directions signs showing how Primary Destinations relate to these

The purpose of this review is to align the list of Primary Destinations with the Primary Route network on which they are located, and to ensure that changes to the network and how it is defined, occurring over a period of  approximately 30 years, are addressed. It is not intended that all trunk road direction signs will be updated immediately to align with the list, but a relevant and current list will allow new and replacement signs to be provided in a consistent way.

The review will result in an updated list being published. It is intended that this will be included in Department for Transport’s Traffic Signs Manual (Chapter 2) and on Transport Scotland’s website.

Start date of relevant proposal: June 2023

Start date of Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment process: December 2023