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Planning and traffic in Stafford.... terrible?
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1JKz
Well-Known Forumite
my two penneth:-
i commute to Wolverhampton Monday to Friday five days a week, all the weeks of the year (exclude my holidays of course!) by car and the number of times i am caught in traffic fails insugnificantly to the times i am not, when there is a small delay it's really not a biggy, because that's what it is, a small delay and for a short period of time my nose is put out of joint yes but it really isn't worth getting me knickers in a twist, because the number of times i sail out of Stafford and back in again during peak time hours far out numbers the time i have traffic problems.
i don't have an 'easy' route either, i'm off the Westone Rd!
At the minute, the hospital is having a new lane put in* and the traffic along the Weston Road into town is beyond belief but it's for a short period, so what, change your time in/out and journey accordingly if you really have too, its that simple right?
So, to hear that a bypass (much like Stokes effort) should be implemented to Stafford sounds plain bonkers to me.
Regards,
*what a waste of thousands of pounds, i've lived near the hosiptal for years and can not think of one excuse to jusitfy putting another lane in here, impo people, mpo!
...Henryscat, for your comments on the forum i salute you, (again) skill point coming your way!
i commute to Wolverhampton Monday to Friday five days a week, all the weeks of the year (exclude my holidays of course!) by car and the number of times i am caught in traffic fails insugnificantly to the times i am not, when there is a small delay it's really not a biggy, because that's what it is, a small delay and for a short period of time my nose is put out of joint yes but it really isn't worth getting me knickers in a twist, because the number of times i sail out of Stafford and back in again during peak time hours far out numbers the time i have traffic problems.
i don't have an 'easy' route either, i'm off the Westone Rd!
At the minute, the hospital is having a new lane put in* and the traffic along the Weston Road into town is beyond belief but it's for a short period, so what, change your time in/out and journey accordingly if you really have too, its that simple right?
So, to hear that a bypass (much like Stokes effort) should be implemented to Stafford sounds plain bonkers to me.
Regards,
*what a waste of thousands of pounds, i've lived near the hosiptal for years and can not think of one excuse to jusitfy putting another lane in here, impo people, mpo!
...Henryscat, for your comments on the forum i salute you, (again) skill point coming your way!
Since my MOT ran out last week I've used my bike for everything again. I know what Henry's Cat is hinting at with "think of what it can do instead of can't".
I've been able to go straight into town first thing in the morning, collect a parcel from the Royal Mail depot, pop to ASDA and then to the business park for work.
I've also managed to go to ASDA straight from work and then home. All in a fraction of the time it would have taken in the car. There's plenty of shortcuts, cycle lanes and other ways of getting about in addition to the roads. You don't always have to go the same distance as you would in the car.
There's simply too many cars for the roads. You either need less cars or more roads and more roads attract more people in cars. Like Ben Elton said, it's like adding a second pedal bin in your kitchen. More capacity but it will fill up just like the other one did.
There's motorcycles, scooters and electric bikes. These can go past cars and queues. Cars are so big, which is fine when they're full of 5 people, but invariably they have one person in them (especially in my case as I'm the only person in my household).
I've been able to go straight into town first thing in the morning, collect a parcel from the Royal Mail depot, pop to ASDA and then to the business park for work.
I've also managed to go to ASDA straight from work and then home. All in a fraction of the time it would have taken in the car. There's plenty of shortcuts, cycle lanes and other ways of getting about in addition to the roads. You don't always have to go the same distance as you would in the car.
There's simply too many cars for the roads. You either need less cars or more roads and more roads attract more people in cars. Like Ben Elton said, it's like adding a second pedal bin in your kitchen. More capacity but it will fill up just like the other one did.
There's motorcycles, scooters and electric bikes. These can go past cars and queues. Cars are so big, which is fine when they're full of 5 people, but invariably they have one person in them (especially in my case as I'm the only person in my household).
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Your comments are being notedPeterD said:
phildo
Well-Known Forumite
Must be either very lucky or your route just isn't that bad. I commute to Stoke Monday to Friday and the mornings aren't too bad as I usually pass through about 7.20am but the evenings are just stupid unless I finish very early and hit Stafford before 4.30pm or leave it later until after about 6.30pm. I can get from Stoke to the junction of A34 & Beaconside in about 10mins and then it's between 25-45mins to do the last 4 miles (either through town and up Lichfield Rd or via beaconside and Baswich Lane.) And as for Saturdays... Lichfield Road is almost gridlocked.57mph said:
I completely agree, I've never imagined the mythical 'by-pass' to be an A500 affair with bridges, raised junctions etc. Simply extend Beaconside past the fire station to Cannock Rd and then through to J13 would do for now, if it was all 2 lane dual carriageway then great but even just a boggo main Road around the east of Stafford would be fantastic!57mph said:
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
You have heard, but haven't read evidently.Miss Red said:
As far as Stafford (and most towns) goes, there are a sufficient number of short distance trips being made by car that could easily switch to other means and relieve congestion. It is within the power of local people to address it by not driving, but they choose to continue to do so.
In an ideal world though...
There needs to be a level playing field between public transport and private car, which currently does not exist. The planning system also needs to be reformed.
I'd say the following needs to happen, but none of it is an overnight solution:
- national road pricing - proceeds to be invested in public transport
- restructure the rail network, preferably renationalising it instead of bonkers privatised structure we have now. Stop fares rises above inflation and preferably reduce fares.
- introduce London style regulation of the bus industry - i.e. control is taken away from operators of routes, timetables and fares .
- reform of the planning system, to concentrate development in more sensible locations - especially brown field sites in the conurbation.
- controls on out of town retail and supermarket developement, including charges for car parking.
- greater priority given to pedestrians and cyclists, including a strengthening of the law where vehicle / pedestrian or vehicle / cyclist accidents are concerned - preferably introducing the system that is adopted in other countries of if you hit a cyclist, the vehicle is assumed at fault unless there is evidence to the contrary.
The car will always be inefficient use of road space and it is completely insane to assume that it is ever possible to supply enough road space to allow for unrestrained demand for car travel. This was recognised decades back in the Buchanan report, in 1963, "Traffic in Towns" - and that was from a pro car point of view, written for a pro-car government. In case you think something written in 1963 is out of date, their car ownership forecasts 30 years ahead were astoundingly accurate.
Whilst you denounce bicycle and public transport as a solution - there isn't a large city on the planet that could function efficiently without.
So what's your solution? Other than "build some roads. Er, that's it".
Miss Red
Well-Known Forumite
So basically put the car driver in the firing line, car drivers to pay to invest in public transport, we pay to invest in the roads but it dont happen!!
Make car drivers at fault if they hit a biker!! So all bikers are apt riders, no formal training, - well if ever that becomes law, lets hope that every bike rider undergoes rigerous training (at their own expense) a test (at their own expense) then when they have a piece of paper to say they are competent let them pay insurance too!!
In just the same way as their are crap car drivers - there are crap bikers too! But everything you say points to a utopia of bike riders!
But their again they are a tourist only area, not a commuter area!
Make car drivers at fault if they hit a biker!! So all bikers are apt riders, no formal training, - well if ever that becomes law, lets hope that every bike rider undergoes rigerous training (at their own expense) a test (at their own expense) then when they have a piece of paper to say they are competent let them pay insurance too!!
In just the same way as their are crap car drivers - there are crap bikers too! But everything you say points to a utopia of bike riders!
But their again they are a tourist only area, not a commuter area!
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
The driver is not in the "firing line" at all. If you compare the costs of driving to those of travelling by bus or rail, in real terms, since the 1960s then you'll see the only ones in the "firing line" are actually public transport users.Miss Red said:
The road network will never function efficiently if all you do is build more roads. Whether you like it or not, building your way out of congestion is not the answer. If you still think it is, then prove it.
Miss Red
Well-Known Forumite
To be quite honest, i really dont have time to "prove it" even if i wanted to! At the end of the day i have stated my "opinion" of a free speaking forum (aptly on veterans day).henryscat said:
Looking at it from a "straightforward" approach, this town wont ever have a bypass! They wont spend that sort of money to help the minority of people who need to go out of the town for work or other various reasons.
The town will stay pretty much as it has done for the 8 yrs ive been here, congestion, supermarkets, closing down retail outlets. no new big businesses creating jobs (therefore no incoming custom anyway).
But its geared up and serves the majority well, after all if you dont have to travel very often you can afford to wait around for a bus or train and congestion wont matter because you have all day anyway.
phildo
Well-Known Forumite
Ta for taking time to explain. At least I know what your vision is now! So, rather than revert to "build more roads", "rip down traffic lights", I'll be (try) and be constructive.henryscat said:
Road pricing - I'm not completely against this... but it needs to be fair and only act to incentivise drivers to move journeys to off peak times or to walk/cycle short journeys (I define short as a mile or 2 as this is what an average punter can cycle/walk without getting the lycra out!) I disagree that road pricing should cross subsidise public transport.
Restructure rail - Yes but not nationalise... we can have another thread if required but suffice to say the drain on public purse..not now. Agree that current structure is stupid but the difficulty with rail is that the tracks only go to certain places. At least a bus company can add a new route pretty easily as the roads already exist.
Bus industry - don't know how London works but I think local authorities should decide the required routes, timetables and pricing and then put bundles of these routes out to tender. Create packages with a mixture of good and poor routes. Clearly each package would need to be profitable for the operator so the pricing may need review during the tender process and a fuel surcharge element to the pricing structure.
Planning system - I'm not sure we need reform but a compulsory course in common sense for all planning staff might help! I can't agree that brownfield over greenfield (not greenbelt) is right in every case as you have to build where people want to live, no point building high end homes on a brownfield site in a lousy location as you won't be able to sell them but commercial premises should favour brownfield where possible.
Out of town retail - agreed. Day to day retail needs to be brought back to the high street so that our towns can function properly with a concentrated footfall in one area. Out of town is suitable for car showrooms, IKEA, DFS, etc where you visit infrequently and make large purchases but the trend of having Next, Boots etc out of town is wrong. Sort this and the charging for parking at out of town locations is irrelevant. (supermarkets - I consider Stafford's supermarkets to be 'in town' as you can combine a trip to supermarket & town into one journey unlike many other towns)
Cyclists/pedestrians and the law - don't understand your logic. Surely the law shouldn't favour anyone? I think cyclists should have test/licence/insurance and the police should deal with poor driving and poor cycling with equal measure. The method of transport doesn't change the fact that it's a person in both cases and they should be treated as equals. It's bad enough at the moment that a large number of cyclists appear to have an attitude that they are beyond the law without changing the law to make motorists guilty until proven innocent!
edits for appalling grammar/spelling/sentence structure... need coffee
phildo
Well-Known Forumite
Fix Stafford.
1) Get A&E back
2) Build main road from Beaconside link to J13 (via Baswich lane or an other route) to relieve specfic issues around east of town (lichfield road, weston road, silkmore lane)
3) Sort out hospital once and for all - don't know how NHS works but in industry you'd get a new management team in and start from the bottom again.
4) create new 2 new access roads to queens retail park. One from the Hough retail park via a bridge over the railway and one from near the COOP on silkmore lane . Then close the access from the roundabout at junction of Silkmore Ln and A34 (this roundabout is one of the main bottlenecks on traffic out of town). This will enable traffic to access either retail park from the silkmore lane entrance or the existing entrances for the Hough. Would need to design the layout between the 2 entrances such that it is not viable as a rat run for through traffic.
5) Get retail back in town centre. Plenty of tools.....lower rates? planning?
6) Make town centre easily accessible to all. Cars - the main road around the east will ease traffic. Pedestrians - I think stafford is ok. Cyclists - more dedicated cycle routes. Buses - dunno if they're any good as I don't use them.
7) Repair the blinking potholes! I am fed up having to drive around them all, pretty sure that anyone following me thinks I'm either drunk or not paying attention.
1) Get A&E back
2) Build main road from Beaconside link to J13 (via Baswich lane or an other route) to relieve specfic issues around east of town (lichfield road, weston road, silkmore lane)
3) Sort out hospital once and for all - don't know how NHS works but in industry you'd get a new management team in and start from the bottom again.
4) create new 2 new access roads to queens retail park. One from the Hough retail park via a bridge over the railway and one from near the COOP on silkmore lane . Then close the access from the roundabout at junction of Silkmore Ln and A34 (this roundabout is one of the main bottlenecks on traffic out of town). This will enable traffic to access either retail park from the silkmore lane entrance or the existing entrances for the Hough. Would need to design the layout between the 2 entrances such that it is not viable as a rat run for through traffic.
5) Get retail back in town centre. Plenty of tools.....lower rates? planning?
6) Make town centre easily accessible to all. Cars - the main road around the east will ease traffic. Pedestrians - I think stafford is ok. Cyclists - more dedicated cycle routes. Buses - dunno if they're any good as I don't use them.
7) Repair the blinking potholes! I am fed up having to drive around them all, pretty sure that anyone following me thinks I'm either drunk or not paying attention.
