Steve_b
Well-Known Forumite
Read my view at http://wp.me/p3NDy8-31
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Is Stafford Heading for Traffic Grid Lock?
- Thread starter Steve_b
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henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
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Actually it only needs a small shift away from the car to make a difference. In any case, driving round Stafford is pretty easy and it isn't that congested. Try driving in and out of Birmingham at rush hour. Stafford is a small town so the alternatives are there. A significant proportion (not all) of people who drive have an alternative. In Stafford "congested" means an extra 5 or 10 minutes in your car- is that really any big deal sat in a warm car with a CD player?
Steve_b
Well-Known Forumite
Stafford is very rural, so people are dependant on their own transport, and as there are no outer ring roads all traffic has to head into town. The main arteries in Stafford haven't changed for 100s of years, and it look unlikely they will in my lifetime. Lack of investment in good, safe cycle routes into town doesn't encourage people to cycle, rather than use their cars.
A delay of 5 to 10 minutes my not seem a long delay, but if the journey should only take 5 minutes, the journey time in doubled or trebled. This congestion has spread to residential estates and no longer confined to the main arteries. With the planed building of over 3000 new houses, and new business parks these problems are only going to get worse.
A delay of 5 to 10 minutes my not seem a long delay, but if the journey should only take 5 minutes, the journey time in doubled or trebled. This congestion has spread to residential estates and no longer confined to the main arteries. With the planed building of over 3000 new houses, and new business parks these problems are only going to get worse.
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
There is no grid
So no lock either
So no lock either
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
Most of the population is urban - on rough figures, the Borough has a population of 130,000. About 65,000 is in Stafford, and 17,000 in Stone for starters. The urban population is therefore a big determinant of traffic.
Some are, in the most out of the way areas. Some people have moved and chosen to be dependent, others have to be by circumstance (e.g. they've lived somewhere for decades and transport has changed). Some of the rural areas are well served by buses - Gnosall / Haughton have a bus every half hour to Stafford, Newport and Telford as an example. It is not true that all of the rural population have to depend on cars.
In most towns, the road network is historic and will remain that way unless you're prepared to demolish swathes of housing. We do have the M6 as a bypass to the west. The majority of traffic in the town centre is there because people want to travel to the town centre.
If cycling is to become more mainstream then it needs to be on the road, the main problem is the not insignificant number of drivers who think cyclists shouldn't be on the road. There is a case for some high quality cycle routes, but putting shared use paths around the place of the variety we have around Stafford don't cut it.
If the journey is only 5 minutes then walk!!!!
Building will add to traffic, but with housing going on the north end of town, I would say a lot of the generation will not be into Stafford itself. For instance, you can access A34 north, M6 both directions, A518 to Uttoxeter without going anywhere near town. Building more and more roads generates yet more traffic however...
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
When a lot of people say public transport is "not viable", this is usually what they really mean...
The tipping point between reasonably free flowing traffic and not isn't that much, so a 10 or 20% shift to alternatives amongst those who do have an option would make a pretty significant difference - and make life a lot easier for all those people like care workers, delivery people, and tradespersons.
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Service sector + Loans = UK economy - Debt %
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
What we need is more distribution sheds and call centres employing lots of people on part time temporary contracts at near the minimum wage - that'll sort it out...........
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
When one actually gets out of Europe it is surprising just how far off the radar it is to so many countries
And England even less so
Unless there is a reference to historic theme parks with seventy million quirky players of course
And England even less so
Unless there is a reference to historic theme parks with seventy million quirky players of course
Steve_b
Well-Known Forumite
A very well thoughtful reply, thank you
Steve_b
Well-Known Forumite
I would like to see both the Western Relief Road and the Eastern Distributor Roads built, and hope the WRR is completed before the downgrading of Chell Road
Our Council will look for funding for the Western Relief Road but not until 2018, as for the EDR, that one now looks very unlikely. Just the section from Beaconside to St Tomas Lane being built.
Our Council will look for funding for the Western Relief Road but not until 2018, as for the EDR, that one now looks very unlikely. Just the section from Beaconside to St Tomas Lane being built.
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
I'm sure the people affected by the building of those roads would disagree that they need to be built due to the negative on house-values etc.
Where would the money come from for such projects in the foreseeable future?
Wouldn't the cost be out of all proportion with the actual delays we face when driving around town?
Far better and more cost-effective to take a long, hard look at the roads we currently have and manage the flow of traffic on them in a much smarter way. It is noticeable on the Queensway and on the A34 that when there is a power outage and the traffic lights stop working, traffic flows much more freely (and therefore generates less pollution).
That would be my starting point.
