Anyone encountered any ridiculous road closures / traffic systems?

[Alfie]

It seems to me that pretty much everywhere I drive these days there are roadworks of some sort or another. Not only do these take an inordinate length of time to complete (job preservation I suspect), they are often il-timed and badly planned.

Reading.

Not a town I have ever liked mainly because the traffic system there is utter rubbish. I've never driven in or out without a hold up. I positively hate the place and have for many years. Avoid it at all costs except recently I was forced to go there and amongst the mire of poor traffic management there are road works. Motorcycle if there is ever a next time.

Brighton.

Majorly unfriendly to the motorist. Speed cameras along the front set to flash at 31mph!

M3 junction 2 onwards. Roadworks due to end in December after 18 months of work.

A320 between Woking and Ottershaw (McLaren). Shut for three weeks for roadworks.

Pyrford to Old Woking - rolling Gas works which are taking forever.

So, anyone have any ridiculous job creation schemes / road works in their areas?

 

[lisa110rry]

I'll see your comments and raise you:

1. The City Deal roadworks in Preston. Absolutely inane and ongoing for several years. You can google to get the flavour of it:

Lancashire Enterprise Partnership - City Deal

2. Preston city centre at Fishergate. Neither pedestrians nor other road users have right of way here and there's a stupid raised circular pedestal in the middle of the junction which is not a traffic island and which has caught out at least one unwary driver who got his car stuck on it - I've already put that on the forum here:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/driving-incidents-roadrage/209684-oops-i-didnt-see.html

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I used to live just off Junction 4A on the M3 so very familiar with the area you talk about and its constant stream of roadworks. (I agree with you on the frustration of driving through the road hell known as Reading.) But since moving up (geographically) to Peterborough I've experienced the same quantity of seemingly never-ending road works. The only difference here is that the local drivers are even worse at negotiating the restrictions or finding alternative routes!

 

[Peter T]

I'll see all your comments and raise you!

Tollbar Roundabout, Coventry -

A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement - Road Projects - Highways England

Major roundabout just to the east of Coventry where the A46 meets the A45 and several smaller roads.

It's been going on now for two and a half years and was originally scheduled to be completed by autumn this year but has now been put back 'till the end of this year.

On current form I doubt it will be finished by the end of next year!

If you read the link you will see a road called Siskin Drive mentioned. My son works down there. The traffic trying to get out of Siskin Drive in the evening rush is so bad that he's taken to riding a motorbike so he can cut through the traffic easier. By his calculations, it's been cheaper for him to do all the motor bike training, take the various tests, and buy a bike than it would have been to sit in traffic for 1 to 2 hours a day in the car.

 

[James Copeland]

+1
Known locally as Kamikaze roundabout. At least now we are coming to the final months and then 8 months of greening the muddy bits and a bonus the average speed camera have been deactivated

 

[Peter T]

+1
Known locally as Kamikaze roundabout. At least now we are coming to the final months and then 8 months of greening the muddy bits and a bonus the average speed camera have been deactivated

Thanks for that.

Didn't know the speed cameras had gone.

 

[Doodle]

Reading have been playing with light sequencing throughout the town, and have made an utter clusterf*ck of it. It's a great exercise in traffic calming through gridlock.

Adding to that have been the works for the new Hellmouth known as Ikea which have ruined J12/Calcot for the last 6 months or so.

You're right, Alfie. Think the Zoe's commuting days could be numbered, pack it in for another Ducati.

 

[developer]

"Traffic system"experts round these parts are taking large sections of dual carriageway and painting one lane out making them single carriageway. Very irritating.

What happened to traffic flow?

Tosspots

 

[BTB 500]

They just spent £3m and nearly a year changing the roundabout at the end of our road into a gigantic traffic light controlled crossroads (this is the 'Coral Reef' junction on the A322, between Bagshot and Bracknell). It now takes several minutes to get across in any direction at all times of the day, where previously there were only ever delays in the rush hour (which still exist - the amount of traffic hasn't reduced).

 

[Alfie]

They just spent £3m and nearly a year changing the roundabout at the end of our road into a gigantic traffic light controlled crossroads (this is the 'Coral Reef' junction on the A322, between Bagshot and Bracknell). It now takes several minutes to get across in any direction at all times of the day, where previously there were only ever delays in the rush hour (which still exist - the amount of traffic hasn't reduced).

Yep. I agree. Had to go through that en-route to the hell hole Reading

Of course the one huge failure I forgot to mention was that stupid variable speed limit on the M25. Traffic flows just fine until those signs go on and then it just clogs right up. Epic failure.

 

[lisa110rry]

I'll see all your comments and raise you!

Tollbar Roundabout, Coventry -

A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement - Road Projects - Highways England

Major roundabout just to the east of Coventry where the A46 meets the A45 and several smaller roads.

It's been going on now for two and a half years and was originally scheduled to be completed by autumn this year but has now been put back 'till the end of this year.

On current form I doubt it will be finished by the end of next year!

If you read the link you will see a road called Siskin Drive mentioned. My son works down there. The traffic trying to get out of Siskin Drive in the evening rush is so bad that he's taken to riding a motorbike so he can cut through the traffic easier. By his calculations, it's been cheaper for him to do all the motor bike training, take the various tests, and buy a bike than it would have been to sit in traffic for 1 to 2 hours a day in the car.

Wow, that does look major! I used to live in Knowle, I'm sure that area wasn't like that then.

 

[BTB 500]

Of course the one huge failure I forgot to mention was that stupid variable speed limit on the M25.

Don't forget they are implementing this on the M3 too - they've had that 50 limit all the way from Bagshot to the M25 for ages now.

 

[Wheelsnuts]

Durham City: installing traffic lights on two major roundabouts in the centre of the City. It's taking many months and creating traffic chaos throughout the tourist season. Perfect timing! No doubt in a year or two some bright spark will realise that traffic flows much more freely when the lights are off.

 

[Peter T]

Wow, that does look major! I used to live in Knowle, I'm sure that area wasn't like that then.

They started in January 2014, so I guess if you left before that, you have missed all the excitement!

 

[Ted]

Another one in Coventry, the A45/Broad Lane junction. Removed the traffic lights to put in a roundabout.
With traffic lights.
No improvements in traffic flow but much confusion and accidents on at least a weekly basis.

 

[Peter T]

Another one in Coventry, the A45/Broad Lane junction. Removed the traffic lights to put in a roundabout.
With traffic lights.
No improvements in traffic flow but much confusion and accidents on at least a weekly basis.

Been there, seen it.

A very bizarre arrangement. Traffic on one road gets a green light to move onto the roundabout, but there is still traffic on the roundabout, which has priority, from another road. So the first traffic has to wait for the roundabout to be clear, by which time the lights in their direction have changed!

Sorry, it's difficult to explain in a coherent manner, suffice to say it's dangerous carp!

 

[Piff]

Not on the same scale as the above, but Ipswich introduced bus lanes & traffic lights to favour the busses at various points along the west entry (Norwich Road). They claimed at the time all the traffic lights would speed up the progress of motorists
Only if all the lights were on green could the motorist achieve the same progress as before the introduction of the traffic lights.

Another one close to me is the A1120/B1113 "roundabout" which is controlled by multiple sets of traffic lights. I queried it's design with a county council employee who gleefully announced it was him that designed it. He claimed that the traffic lights made it pedestrian & cyclist friendly. Check it out, how many pedestrians & cyclists use it daily? The only time that traffic flows through that junction is when the power is out & the lights are off

 

[Doodle]

I'm waiting for the first major smash on the new setup just off M3 J6.

Whilst it has unquestionably improved the traffic flow, the sheer number of different light sets combined with the speed that you can (and people do) carry through the junction means it's only a matter of time before someone misses their signals with catastrophic results

 

[stumpy1]

Lockdown on Sunday in the SE for the sodding bike race.

 

[Palfrem]

Bus lanes - anywhere.

Why reduce the capacity of a road by 50% so an almost empty bus every 20 minutes can dawdle its way to the terminus?