Castletown Bypass - Western Access Road

[tek-monkey]

Give pedestrians right of way on all roads, make all crossings happen immediately. Dedicated cycle lanes on all roads, make cars give way to cyclists. Make it preferable to walk/cycle, not just because you are financially penalised not to (and I include public transport in that, bloody rip off).

 

[henryscat]

and the new station car-park will surely have cheap options for the weekends?..... ooh i say......

Yep, I believe so - something like £2/day on Sat/Sun I think was the proposed charge but £8 in the week. In some ways its quite good because it makes it not outrageously priced to leave the car at the station for the weekend and go away on the train, then not have to part with £6 for a taxi home on a Sunday evening when there are few buses (which I would normally use to get home from the station). I've only used a taxi in Stafford twice in 4 years and that's twice too many.

 

[basil]

on a lot of european roads the pedestrian has right of way at side road junctions i.e Stone Road has umpteen side roads and if the continental courtesy was applied you could walk from Lloyds to Redhill in relative safety whilst crossing the side roads.....

 

[henryscat]

Make it preferable to walk/cycle, not just because you are financially penalised not to (and I include public transport in that, bloody rip off).

Looking at it another way, since drivers don't pay the true costs of car use it isn't a financial penalty, more a case of paying a more realistic cost... One example is congestion which is an excess of demand over supply (of road space) which in economic terms means the price is too low...

 

[henryscat]

on a lot of european roads the pedestrian has right of way at side road junctions i.e Stone Road has umpteen side roads and if the continental courtesy was applied you could walk from Lloyds to Redhill in relative safety whilst crossing the side roads.....

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858 - Rule 206, but unfortunately most people seem to ignore the highway code as soon as they've passed their driving test.

 

[shoes]

Give pedestrians right of way on all roads, make all crossings happen immediately. Dedicated cycle lanes on all roads, make cars give way to cyclists. Make it preferable to walk/cycle, not just because you are financially penalised not to (and I include public transport in that, bloody rip off).

I agree with this, car ownership is essential for an awful lot of people and they will have to use the car at some point or another so making the use of the car even more expensive than it already is would be counter productive.

If you make using the car inside of the town a major ball ache however then there is a chance people will forgo the car for a bike.

I'm interested to see how Boris's cycling scheme in london pans out, see if it works and to what extent.

 

[henryscat]

I agree with this, car ownership is essential for an awful lot of people and they will have to use the car at some point or another so making the use of the car even more expensive than it already is would be counter productive.

No, an awful lot of people find car ownership convenient, the proportion for which it is "essential" is probably not that great. A great deal of people choose to build their lifestyle around the car and choose the extent to which they become reliant on the car (like choosing to live in the middle of nowhere rather than in a town). Car use imposes a lot of costs that the driver doesn't pay, and the fact that they don't is counter productive.

I'm interested to see how Boris's cycling scheme in london pans out, see if it works and to what extent.

London also has a congestion charge....

 

[Gramaisc]

on a lot of european roads the pedestrian has right of way at side road junctions i.e Stone Road has umpteen side roads and if the continental courtesy was applied you could walk from Lloyds to Redhill in relative safety whilst crossing the side roads.....

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858 - Rule 206, but unfortunately most people seem to ignore the highway code as soon as they've passed their driving test.

When I was a lad that was still generally observed - and, perhaps more importantly, enforced.

It's a brave, or foolish, politician who does anything 'anti-car-driver' in this country.

 

[tek-monkey]

No, an awful lot of people find car ownership convenient, the proportion for which it is "essential" is probably not that great. A great deal of people choose to build their lifestyle around the car and choose the extent to which they become reliant on the car (like choosing to live in the middle of nowhere rather than in a town). Car use imposes a lot of costs that the driver doesn't pay, and the fact that they don't is counter productive.

I've had to not apply for a shitload of jobs in the past because I don't drive and the public transport network was not feasable (I consider up to 1 hour each way feasable to commute). Therefore I would have to move to take the job, again not something I am willing to do. Whilst I agree that it was my choice not to move house or spend 3 hours a day travelling, I still see a car really as essential to working in a lot of places.

What we need to stop is people driving to tesco for a pint of milk, no wonder all the corner shops went. If using local resources became preferrable to driving into town it'd be great. I do really think making all crossings within a mile of the town centre pedestrian controlled would help, get people used to being interupted constantly (just like pedestrians are).

 

[kyoto49]

I'm happy to see others agree with me on getting people out of there cars.

By nature I'm a lazy person and would happily drive everywhere, but because of the ease of access to my work via the disused railway line, it is actually quicker for me to cycle than drive. I know this because I timed the journey to work by car with no traffic, and the cycle to work, obviously, no traffic

If cycling and walking were quicker and easier, i.e road priorities to pedestrians and cyclists as already suggested, some would move to those methods. However, I think it needs more. Like a previous poster says car parking has to be prohibitively expensive to prevent people wanting to drive to town.

The price of the bus is ridiculous though in Stafford. £5.40 return for one adult and one child from Common to town. Outrageous. I got a flight to Amsterdam for £5.50!!!! Not exactly the point, but Stafford has an OK bus service that I can't afford/refuse to afford to use!

We need joined up thinking and a real will at the top level to get cars off the road.

 

[Withnail]

The price of the bus is ridiculous though in Stafford. £5.40 return for one adult and one child from Common to town. Outrageous.

This is one of the things that a) really p's me off, and b) i just don't get; how can these fares be so high? I very rarely use buses but every time i do i'm reminded why i shouldn't. This is not good.

I know i'm sort of answering my own question, ie high fares = fewer passengers = higher fares but surely it is time to prioritise.

 

[tek-monkey]

Its cheaper to get a taxi for most journeys if there are 3 or more of you, meaning if I'm with the GF + 2 kids its too expensive to use the bus.

 

[henryscat]

The price of the bus is ridiculous though in Stafford. £5.40 return for one adult and one child from Common to town. Outrageous. I got a flight to Amsterdam for £5.50!!!! Not exactly the point, but Stafford has an OK bus service that I can't afford/refuse to afford to use!

Problem is the disparity between fares if you travel infrequently and monthly ticket. Arriva flog monthly passes online £37.80 unlimited travel which is actually pretty good value when you divide that down per journey. Single fares are on the other hand somewhat kerchinging. I suspect that most of the money the bus companies collect comes from carrying OAPs and people with monthly or weekly passes. Interesting thing is that bus companies are paid for carrying OAPs based on an "average fare"....

We need joined up thinking and a real will at the top level to get cars off the road.

Absolutely, but politicians at all levels are scared of losing votes from the sizeable Daily Mail / Sun -reading (though reading and Daily Mail or The Sun is an oxymoron) "persecuted motorist" contingent.

 

[basil]

they also speak of/ patronise 'the hardworking british taxpayer.......

 

[AndyST17]

I see on a certain someone's Facebook that the government has dropped funding for the Stafford Western Access Road.

 

[tek-monkey]

Ooh, link?

 

[Andreas Rex]

I see on a certain someone's Facebook that the government has dropped funding for the Stafford Western Access Road.

Yes I've just seen the same. It says:

'Just had a call from the Express and Star - the government has dropped funding for the Stafford Western Access Road. Perhaps councillors and officers can start creating a sensible plan to solve the town's traffic issues, such as a bus station and a re-regulated bus service which serves the people, not the other way round.'

 

[My Name is URL]

Result!

 

[gon2seed]

That explains alot! Was just talking about this 'tother day! Personally, think it was a road to nowhere, and we already have the Eastern bypass (Beaconside) for that. Of course the beaconside road is very busy at times, but...... I'll shut up, 'cos we have been there before!

 

[John Marwood]

"The Western Access or Eastern Bypass will happen"

'Bet you a pint in the Railway it doesn't.'

For a proper bet you need to define the timescale

If its five years or less can I have a bet too please ( on no road ) - Guinness, thanks

I cant remember who I was quoting - but mines a warm one..