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I saw several of them around Paramaribo, Suriname. Left side looks kind of like "vehicles not allowed" and the right side like "parking prohibited" signs, but there was plenty of cars riding and parking behind the sign.

sign

Kate Gregory
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Kuba
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    Was there anyone parking on the opposite side of street? I'd agree that the right side looks like a no-parking sign, but no idea about the left side. BTW Wikipedia says that Suriname follows Dutch style road signs – Peter M Jan 30 '19 at 17:09
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    I am Dutch, I have never seen this sign in the Netherlands, but I agree that 'parking one side of the road' seems likely. (Internet search did not find the sign for me.) – Willeke Jan 30 '19 at 17:17
  • @phoog But being closed on the left side seems non-sensical as they drive on the left in Suriname and in the background of the pic there is an obvious stop sign facing the left driving traffic. But yes, truly baffling. It needs a local to explain this one! – Peter M Jan 30 '19 at 17:23
  • The "half" makes me think of alternated side parking signs that exist in France (though they do not look the same at all): you can park on one side of the road from 1st to 15th of each month, and on the other side from the 16th to the end of the month, maybe it's a related concept? – jcaron Jan 30 '19 at 17:29
  • @PeterM I don't share the apparently common sentiment that half the sign applies to half the road and the other half to the other half of the road. I wonder whether the sign or the left half of it applies to the sidewalk (or pavement in the UK sense); I note that parking there seems to be a popular thing to do. Perhaps it means you can't park on the street and you can't drive your car up onto the sidewalk to park it there, either. Obviously if that's what it means, enforcement is lax. – phoog Jan 30 '19 at 17:50
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    Larger view of the same location: https://goo.gl/maps/3WRWoRLhVzK2 Paramaribo lacks street view coverage so it's difficult to find more and generalise. – jcaron Jan 30 '19 at 17:55
  • @phoog it's indeed possible, it seems the blocks that were on the sidewalk have been moved aside... – jcaron Jan 30 '19 at 17:56
  • @phoog I don't have a high expectation of compliance to traffic laws in places like Suriname :D – Peter M Jan 30 '19 at 18:12
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    @jcaron You show us a pic of a traffic sign, but you have been holding out on us with that gorgeous architecture of that building on the corner! – Peter M Jan 30 '19 at 18:13
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    There is another same sign further along on the next block, where cars are also parked off the street, so my guess is it means no parking except on the footpath. – Weather Vane Jan 30 '19 at 18:22
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    @WeatherVane that's also possible, but do note the displaced concrete blocks; I suspect an ignored prohibition is more likely. I also found, when I was looking for an official source describing traffic signs, I found a police announcement warning people to stop parking on the footpaths. I'm going to post an answer. – phoog Jan 30 '19 at 18:36
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    @PeterM, Note that jcaron did not ask the question. Instead you should say: Good work on finding the context for the OP's picture! – hmakholm left over Monica Jan 30 '19 at 18:41
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    @jcaron Good work on finding the context for the OP's picture! :D – Peter M Jan 30 '19 at 18:48
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    It means your ice cream is half vanilla, half blueberry, with a light raspberry frosting. I would pair it with a nice Cognac or similar desert cordial. – HopelessN00b Jan 31 '19 at 02:32
  • @PeterM that sign is "Dutch style" maybe but definitely not one I've ever seen in the Netherlands or in Dutch driving instruction. – jwenting Jan 31 '19 at 05:32

1 Answers1

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The meaning of this traffic sign is: parking on the right side of the street is prohibited. Apparently the left side of the sign is intended as being empty, so it has no meaning.

The OP's image is of the Mr. F.H.R. Lim A Po street. This helped in finding a police announcement of August 28 2018 about the placement of new traffic signs, in which the following is stated in Dutch:

Deze verkeersborden geven aan, dat er een wachtverbod geldt voor de rechterzijde van de Lim A Postraat. Lim A Postraat Paramaribo

Translation:

These traffic signs indicate that there is a parking prohibition (officially called waiting prohibition) on the right side of the Lim A Po street.

Draakhond
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