Aren't there road signs that show populations of towns in the UK?
I had a trip from Heathrow Airport to Swindon and later turned back to the airport via the M4. During the trip I haven't noticed any signs that show populations of towns.
When I searched for London on the internet, the results were mostly for a city in Canada.
Did I miss the road signs or aren't there any signs?
Best Answer
Most villages/towns/cities have signs saying "Welcome to {name of village/town/city}", but they (almost exclusively) don't have populations on them in the UK.
When you drive along motorways, like the M4, you don't go into any villages/towns/ cities, so you don't see the "Welcome to {name of village/town/city}" signs. You do see "Welcome to {name of county}" though.
London, UK, possibly doesn't have these signs anyway - London's too big. I expected to find signs to the boroughs and/or the towns and villages that have been absorbed into Greater London, but I didn't find anything for "Welcome to Westminster sign" on google images, or for Hackney or Brixton either. Possibly only smaller towns and villages bother with the signs. I did find this for Tolworth, an area of the Kingston-upon-Thames borough.
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Why do city signs show population?
Re: Why do city/town limits signs have population listed on them? California uses both elevation and population statistics on their city limit signs, found primarily on freeways and state highways and if you go from one municipality to another, each municipality gets its own sign.How does a town get city status?
The policy dictated that for a town's application for city status to be accepted it must fulfil three criteria: A minimum population of 300,000; A record of good local government; A \u201clocal metropolitan character\u201d.What makes a town a city UK?
A minimum population of 300,000. A "local metropolitan character"\u2014this implied that the town had a distinct identity of its own and was the centre of a wider area. A good record of local government.What does city status mean in UK?
City status in the UK can be associated with having a cathedral or a university, a particular form of local government, or having a large population. Although any of these might be used to justify the popular use of the term 'city', in formal terms UK city status is granted by the monarch, on the advice of ministers.Aren' - THOSE DAYS
More answers regarding aren't there road signs that show populations of towns in the UK?
Answer 2
At least one existed: one was erected in Trowbridge in 1999, and then replaced later. But they are exceedingly rare, and I'm not entirely sure that these count as 'road signs'.
Answer 3
According to a brief google search (and from personally visiting several countries on different continents), the population number on the welcome sign seems to be a North American custom. I've never seen this anywhere else.
So, to answer your question, there most likely are no such signs, you didn't miss them.
Answer 4
You didn't miss them - they don't exist here, or indeed almost anywhere outside of the USA as far as I've seen.
Also, our councils can hardly manage to fill potholes, posting optional factoids on signs is just extravagance.
Answer 5
As others have said, town signs in the UK don't have the population on. What they do quite often have, however, is "twinned with", showing the other towns and cities they are partnered with for cultural exchange reasons - as shown on the bottom of the Trowbridge sign in @Dragon's post
Answer 6
In the UK, we have no local registration of one's residence. You can move somewhere and the only thing the council knows about a change in residence, is one name on the council tax bill, a new kid in a school, new benefit claim, etc. There is no need to register other family members or lodgers.
The only reasonably reliable count of population is every 10 years when the census is taken. The rest of the time, it would be a costly hassle for councils to maintain such a sign.
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