The British government has declared war on the profusion¹ of unnecessary road traffic signs, railings and advertising² boards, saying they blight³ towns' English character.

日前，英国政府呼吁拆除过多的路标、栏杆和广告牌，称这些街道设施破坏了英国城镇的景观。

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles⁴ and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has written to local council leaders in England, calling on them to cut the number of unsightly（难看的，不雅观的） signs and other "street clutter⁵（杂乱，混乱） ."

Even traffic lights are in the firing line（作战最前线，射击线） .

Ministers want the public to inform local authorities of particularly bad examples of excess signage, to clean up the national landscape.

"Our streets are losing their English character," Pickles said. "We are being overrun by scruffy⁶（破旧的，不整齐的） signs, bossy⁷（专横的，浮雕装饰的） bollards, patchwork⁸（拼凑物，混杂物） paving and railed-off roads -- wasting taxpayers⁹' money that could be better spent on fixing potholes¹⁰（凹坑） ."

The government says that in some cases traffic signs are installed by councils in the mistaken belief they are legally required, when they are not.

Hammond said the abundance of so-called street furniture often makes towns resemble "scrapyards（废品堆放场） ," confusing motorists（开汽车的人） and obstructing¹¹ pedestrians¹²（行人） .

For signs to be most effective, ministers say, they should be kept to a minimum.

When busy Kensington High Street in central London was stripped of excess road furniture, for example, it helped reduce accidents by 47 percent.

The Department for Transport is reviewing traffic signs policy and new advice on how to reduce clutter will be published later this year.