How's it working?

[boris1066]

The new junction layout at junction Winwick Rd & Long Lane? Passed through today and it was quite clear, mind you, traffic was fairly light.

 

I've noticed that Outdoor World, outdoor equipment provider, has closed. Could this be due to the loss of the roundabout ? Prior to the lights upgrade it was possible for customers to drive around the roundabout and then proceed South back toward the town centre. Currently it's not possible to perform a U-turn at the lights so making a big detour necessary, either at the next roandabout at Cromwell or up Long/Hawleys Lane's.

I doubt that the WBC planners/councillors considered the impact the lights upgrade would have on Outdoor Worlds business or the granting of the approval for Decathlon store on the jubilee/Orford Park site. It's a shame if this is so as Outdoor World have been there as long as I can remember.

 

Personally I couldn't see much wrong with the roundabout and getting out of Alban retail park is now a nightmare at the week end.

[Bazj]

Someone should hae a word with Decathlon.... that tent display they have outside near Winwick Road looks like a bloody peace camp

 

[Evil Sid]

http://www.freesmileys.org/smile

[Dizzy]

I've noticed that Outdoor World, outdoor equipment provider, has closed. Could this be due to the loss of the roundabout ?

 

I saw their closing down sale signs last week. A shame as it's been there for years but having a new large Decathlon store AND a new large Outdoor World in town must have hit them hard.

[Dizzy]

Someone should hae a word with Decathlon.... that tent display they have outside near Winwick Road looks like a bloody peace camp

 

 

Maybe a travelers temp site with a difference Baz.

 

Your pics confused me though as I can see the petrol station on it so have their tents spread out to the other side of the road now too

[Bazj]

The photo was taken from my car while I was sat at the traffic lights waiting to turn right onto Winwick Road towards Winwick. The tents are in front of the store on the land adjoining Winwick road and opposite the petrol station

[skittles]

Skittles

 

As far as I know, all traffic lights have sensors so it’s not going to take a hugely expensive system to simply switch a light to green. Also if you factor in wasted fuel and lost time for workers I’d bet you’d find that far outweighs any of the running costs.

 

Maybe we could adopt the system used in other countries where outside peak times the amber light just flashes to advise people to proceed with caution. It works for them so why not us?

 

Bill

 

I have since learnt that running modern traffic lights are not so expensive, about 4p per day in electricity!!! So little wonder local authorities are just sticking up traffic lights on every junction. But the cost to the motorist is no so small.

 

Flashing amber therefore seems more logical then switching them off as well as allowing left turns on red.

 

However there are still traffic lights such as these at B&Q that really should not be there, the A49 split where Winwich Hospital used to be and others.

[Bill]

I’m just an ordinary bloke that uses the things rather than understanding the complexities of traffic flow dynamics but my gut feeling tells me the larger you make the roundabout the faster cars tend to go round it. Make the roundabout big enough and you have essentially 4 Tee junctions which of course being junctions, may work better with traffic lights.

 

So I’m starting to wonder if a solution might be to go the other way and make the roundabouts much smaller thus forcing the traffic to slow down and make it safer to move out into the flow of the traffic. Without lights, some of the large roundabouts see cars coming round quite fast and you need to be really quick off the mark to find a space to merge or get across.

 

Another option might be to leave the lights off completely and use simple speed limit say 20mph while on the roundabout?

 

Bill

[Cleopatra]

20 mph? You looking for trouble Bill?

[Evil Sid]

Has Rod hacked Bills account

[boris1066]

The photo was taken from my car while I was sat at the traffic lights waiting to turn right onto Winwick Road towards Winwick. The tents are in front of the store on the land adjoining Winwick road and opposite the petrol station

BJ,

Did you find that turning right onto A49 was compromised by the crazy, turn right/pedestrian crossing light arrangement? You start to make the right turn only to find that you are faced with the pedo crossing red light. I make that junction every Tuesday on G/Dad duty and frequently find that traffic passsing in to the junction from Town gets a red light even though the traffic coming from Orford Park has been given the green to turn right. It's another committee designed junction I think ?

[Steve Parish]

BJ,

Did you find that turning right onto A49 was compromised by the crazy, turn right/pedestrian crossing light arrangement? You start to make the right turn only to find that you are faced with the pedo crossing red light. I make that junction every Tuesday on G/Dad duty and frequently find that traffic passsing in to the junction from Town gets a red light even though the traffic coming from Orford Park has been given the green to turn right. It's another committee designed junction I think ?

I assure you that the traffic committee doesn't usually get consulted over road design (like the Bridgefoot markings). I'd rather we did then we could avoid some of the issues - or at least then you could say it's councillors' fault and it would be. The Long Lane lights did go to public consultation and changes were made as a result but it wasn't into the detail of individual lights - I reported the problem with the right-turn from Jubilee Way the first day they operated, and a long hood has been fitted to the more easily-seen light. If strangers are still turning then stopping on the junction, we'll have another look at it, but I've never seen anyone stop since the hood was fitted.

 

The extension to Alban Retail Park (on the Fiat site) includes entry and exit directly off A49 northbound. For now I think the sensors do allow longer for the secondary roads if there's more traffic (or the staff monitoring traffic can change the sequence - and before you start on them, they haven't got cameras at every junction, and you'll never know which queues they get rid of before you notice). In the meantime I'll ask whether longer can be allowed for Hawleys Lane (or a bit of paint applied so traffic going through the lights doesn't block the traffic going up Winwick Road) but it will not be at the expense of causing tailbacks on Winwick Road by reducing the time for traffic already on the major route.

 

Tents: I'm not sure whose land it is but I doubt that use for a sales display is in Decathlon's planning consent. As the planning enforcement section is very busy, I'd not bothered them with it as I expected that the tents would all have been nicked by now, or occupied.

 

And you can't turn down a planning application because it would be competition for a similar business.

[boris1066]

The problem encountered has been around 1730 when the traffic on A49 is moving slowly North bound. The Jubilee Way traffic gets the North bound green to turn right but finds the junction blocked by North bound traffic which has passed beyond the first light but then come up against the red light on the pedestrian crossing and come to a halt. Some drivers realise the ridiculousness of the situation and go through the pedestrian crossing, thus freeing the Jubilee Way Traffic to also pass through the red light on the pedestrian crossing. This situation needs a good looking at. Perhaps the pedestrian crossing needs to be abandoned, after all three crossing opportunities in the space of a couple of hundred yards seems a bit excessive ?

[Steve Parish]

The problem encountered has been around 1730 when the traffic on A49 is moving slowly North bound. The Jubilee Way traffic gets the North bound green to turn right but finds the junction blocked by North bound traffic which has passed beyond the first light but then come up against the red light on the pedestrian crossing and come to a halt. Some drivers realise the ridiculousness of the situation and go through the pedestrian crossing, thus freeing the Jubilee Way Traffic to also pass through the red light on the pedestrian crossing. This situation needs a good looking at. Perhaps the pedestrian crossing needs to be abandoned, after all three crossing opportunities in the space of a couple of hundred yards seems a bit excessive ?

Thanks, Boris. I understand the problem now. The light aspects after the junction are only intended as "secondary" to the aspects at the junction (i.e. for northbound traffic on the A49). I'll have a look myself then ask officers to review it (as they have reviewed and will amend Bridgefoot!)

[boris1066]

Do we really think that three pedestrian crossing opportunities from Jubilee way to Hawleys Lane are too many ? That whole revamp seems to be directed at pedestrians and cycling. I believe Long Lane access might be an improvement but I always thought that there were too many instructions painted on the road that didnt help. Latest example is at Bridgefoot !

 

As far as A49 North traffic flow is concerned I don't see much improvement at peak times since the demise of the roundabout. The absence of which must surely be an inconvenience to the businesses,IDG,Lancing's etc, which can no longer make a simple South bound exit.

 

Cosiderable savings could be made at Town Hall if the traffic officers department were mothballed until the economy improves. Their expertise seems to be lacking. Sometimes less is best !!