Ask Phoebe: Upside-down signs ... can anyone shed light?

An April Fools' Day prank? Photo / Bill Faulkner

Mystery of traffic signage showing traffic lights wrong way round

Q: I saw this traffic signal in Balmoral Rd the other day, and wondered how such a thing could happen. My son tells me there are others installed in like manner. Can you help please? — Janice Marriott, Mt Eden

A: How delicious. A number of scenarios suggest themselves (feel free to add more).

• The installer is colour blind.

• It's a signal from the Secret Service (a safe house is nearby. Turn left, No. 34, the key is under the flowerpot).

• The aliens are here.

• It's part of an investigation by the local roading authority to see how much notice we take of such (or, indeed, any) signs.

• An April Fools' Day jape that's been forgotten.

And so on. There is another such sign in Te Irirangi Drive near Sancta Maria Way. If you've seen others, please let us know.

And for those few who haven't seen the joke, the sign is upside down.

Q: I've noticed the road sweeper in my area recently and wondered, after last week's storm and associated leaves, branches and debris left all over the road, whose responsibility it is when the gutters outside your house are full of fallen leaves from council trees which also block the drains? It's a frequent problem in my area.
— Ann Haynes, Forrest Hill

A: The cleaning of Auckland's streets, either through road sweeping or in response to a specific customer request, is a service delivered by Auckland Transport.

If there is a problem in your street you can contact Auckland Transport via its Customer Contact Centre and request cleaning.

At this time of the year, with the autumn leaves, street cleaning is a bigger than normal activity to manage. Auckland Transport tries to accommodate specific street-cleaning requests in a timely and co-ordinated manner to provide the best service for the community.

Q: The main walking track through the bush at the Auckland Domain has been closed for the past six months or so while work is done on stabilising a bank next to the railway. There seems to be some hold up. I have never seen anyone working on the repair. What gives? — Mark Frater, Auckland

A: A council spokesperson says emergency stabilisation work for the rail line has meant that a section of footpath needs to be permanently re-routed. For this reason, they've blocked the affected part of the footpath off.

The plan is to redirect the footpath through the bush, further up the slope so it will still be a usable route. The council is at present gaining consents and approvals for the remedial works as well as consulting iwi.

Given the popularity of the footpath, this is a priority project and the council anticipates that works will start this winter, around June.