Stafford's Traffic Lights...

[gilesjuk]

Cannock has plenty of islands but none with traffic lights on them. The only traffic lights are where there's no traffic island.

Of course, there's generally less roads converging and no large islands with businesses in the middle of them.

 

[The Stafford Beast]

Why on earth can we not have a system like in Germany where they switch the traffic lights off at night to save electric and to cause less frustration at times of little-to-no traffic? One road is designated right-of-way and is treated like a normal junction when no lights are showing. The technology exists and works well, but I've not seen this at all in this country.

 

[henryscat]

It's particularly frustrating when sitting at a red light when there's nothing coming the other way, this happens frequently. Also the lights at the junction Sandon Rd/Corporation St only give traffic priority for a few seconds to traffic leaving from Corporation St/Albert Terrace (maybe 2/3 cars). Do the traffic/road sensors ever work correctly to measure the flow of traffic in Stafford?

Couple of things to consider... Lights can sometimes be timed to encourage traffic not to use a particular route. I can understand not giving Albert Terrace very long, as it seems a street where minimal traffic volume is desirable. As for Corporation St into Sandon Road, its never struck me that the time is that short.

Also, traffic lights can be controlled on an area wide basis, so traffic can be held at one junction to ensure another junction or section of road further away doesn't get clogged up (as far as is possible)

(who designed the exit from Tesco's?

When built, it will have been a consultant working for Tesco....

sometimes it can take 45 mins to leave the carpark onto Newport Rd)

The choice is either: keep traffic moving around town as much as possible, or let a huge volume out of Tescos which would then in turn have knock on effects for traffic coming from Station Road left into Newport Road, then that effect propogates back.

 

[The Stafford Beast]

Good answer henryscat

I don't suppose you know why traffic lights aren't switched off at night?

Do the Tesco lights still have the problem where they don't change from red at night?

 

[Nicedave]

I agree the traffice system around Stafford is a nightmare
I had to go to the sorting office this afternoon and then cross the town to Kingston Hill awful
Does any one have any constructive ideas of how we might get the system changed

Just a little aside here I do my grocery shopping in Cannock when over there to avoid Stafford as I am sure others do

 

[staffordjas]

As for Corporation St into Sandon Road, its never struck me that the time is that short.

When I went along there last Thursday about 3.30pm to 4pm it was an absolute nightmare down Corporation Street as the lights were only letting 3 or 4 cars onto The Sandon Road at the most each time and then staying on green for The Sandon Road traffic for ages when there wasn't much travelling down there.. As there was a diversion from Goal Road onto Corporation Street because of the roadworks by the Gaol, both Sandyford street and Corporation Street were completely backed up. I sat in the queue for over 15 mins along that stretch.

There again the whole of Stafford seemed to be a nightmare for traffic all that day!

 

[Gramaisc]

As for Corporation St into Sandon Road, its never struck me that the time is that short.

When I went along there last Thursday about 3.30pm to 4pm it was an absolute nightmare down Corporation Street as the lights were only letting 3 or 4 cars onto The Sandon Road at the most each time and then staying on green for The Sandon Road traffic for ages when there wasn't much travelling down there.. As there was a diversion from Goal Road onto Corporation Street because of the roadworks by the Gaol, both Sandyford street and Corporation Street were completely backed up. I sat in the queue for over 15 mins along that stretch.

The Corporation Street/Sandon Road lights had their sequence altered a while ago and it doesn't seem to have been an improvement. It used to be possible, when on a bike, to see the Albert Terrace light reflected in the window of the old shop, whilst stopped there, heading into town on Sandon Road, and thus to be moving in time to avoid being cut up by a car from behind that was turning left but not signalling - a common event. The sequence is the other way round now and so you get no warning, as the lights for Corporation Street are not visible from there..

 

[Miss Red]

As for Corporation St into Sandon Road, its never struck me that the time is that short.

When I went along there last Thursday about 3.30pm to 4pm it was an absolute nightmare down Corporation Street as the lights were only letting 3 or 4 cars onto The Sandon Road at the most each time and then staying on green for The Sandon Road traffic for ages when there wasn't much travelling down there.. As there was a diversion from Goal Road onto Corporation Street because of the roadworks by the Gaol, both Sandyford street and Corporation Street were completely backed up. I sat in the queue for over 15 mins along that stretch.

There again the whole of Stafford seemed to be a nightmare for traffic all that day!

Those lights are always like that - i go down gaol road purposely to miss them out!! Another one is the other end of corporation street, the lights let two (or three depending on how fast they pull off) cars through to turn onto weston road......coming from asda it goes forever!!

 

[gilesjuk]

Does any one have any constructive ideas of how we might get the system changed

Congestion charge

How can you fix a town centre without knocking stuff down?

 

[My Name is URL]

If Mary Portas - "retail expert" (WTF????) is to be believed, free city centre car parking is the way to solve the town centre crisis in the UK.... wonder how that will help the traffic situation in Stafford?

 

[MarkyD]

The only time our traffic lights seem to be in sink is 12am onwards. Which is stupid, I get sick of waiting in red traffic lights just to only have 3 or 4 cars let through before they quickly change. Can't really see how that helps traffic flow!

Oh in-case no one knows, all the car park spaces down Mill Street are now disable only. Friend of mine got a ticket there the other day as he didn't notice the tiny sign placed in the most stupid of places.

 

[gilesjuk]

If Mary Portas - "retail expert" (WTF????) is to be believed, free city centre car parking is the way to solve the town centre crisis in the UK.... wonder how that will help the traffic situation in Stafford?

It will make it worse obviously. But she would advocate building loads more car parks to cope with it. Which would mean tarmacing every conceivable bit of green land in sight. So you can kiss goodbye to Stafford park and playground for starters.

Our old towns are simply not designed for people driving into the centre in such volumes. You have to look at towns like Milton Keynes to see how you design a town around the car. But MK is very awful if you don't drive as everything is spaced so far apart.

 

[henryscat]

Another one is the other end of corporation street, the lights let two (or three depending on how fast they pull off) cars through to turn onto weston road......coming from asda it goes forever!!

You'd expect Weston Road to get most of the green time, its a main route out of town. If Corporation St was given more, what would happen.......?

 

[henryscat]

Good answer henryscat

I don't suppose you know why traffic lights aren't switched off at night?

No idea....!

Do the Tesco lights still have the problem where they don't change from red at night?

I guess they might have - coming out of the store at 0200h the other day, I waited forever and didn't change so proceeded with caution, just as a police car was passing. They obviously didn't care as we both carried on!

 

[henryscat]

I agree the traffice system around Stafford is a nightmare
I had to go to the sorting office this afternoon and then cross the town to Kingston Hill awful
Does any one have any constructive ideas of how we might get the system changed

Essentially it all comes down to too much traffic...

 

[gilesjuk]

Another one is the other end of corporation street, the lights let two (or three depending on how fast they pull off) cars through to turn onto weston road......coming from asda it goes forever!!

You'd expect Weston Road to get most of the green time, its a main route out of town. If Corporation St was given more, what would happen.......?

Corporation Street had traffic calming installed and therefore is not a priority in terms of traffic flow.

But those lights need a right turn filter.

 

[Miss Red]

The whole of staffords traffic light system and traffic flow is cocked up!! I have a couple of friends come up from bucks, we usually go out to lunch on a friday lunchtime and they cant belive it! in their words "its unbelievable madness" and they drive the M25 and outer london routes on a regular basis!

Whoever was responsible for the current system didnt ever anticipate stafford as having so much traffic - otherwise it would have been planned a bit better!
No good moaning really as nothing will ever change (except the traffic the borough are encouraging into town - i think thats what they are aiming for increased presence of stafford to out of town people).

As for the car parking thats just a joke! and bringing in free sat afternoon parking on the lead up to xmas will only cause people to shop after 1pm just for a free space! It would have been better to give a free whole day, at least this would space out the shoppers a bit, failing that dont give free parking at all!

I am no expert on road systems - ive just been a city driver for over 20 years and know a bad system when i see one!

 

[gilesjuk]

Stafford wasn't planned. It built up over time based upon wagon and animal tracks. The buildings rose around those.

There's plenty of car parking, there's just too many people wanting to use it. More parking means less buildings, greenery or houses as a car park can take up as much room as needed for 10-20 houses (or less if multistorey). It is not productive space.

 

[henryscat]

Oh in-case no one knows, all the car park spaces down Mill Street are now disable only. Friend of mine got a ticket there the other day as he didn't notice the tiny sign placed in the most stupid of places.

I was curious so just been to have a look whilst in town.

I cannot see how he didn't notice. Most of the spaces in Mill St are 30 mins for anyone to use. There are two disabled bays marked with signs at either end of the two bays - so when parked your car will be adjacent to a sign!! They aren't tiny either, and don't see how you can say stupidly placed - they're next to the bays in question. It's his fault if he didn't bother to read the signs.

 

[Withnail]

There are two disabled bays marked with signs at either end of the two bays - so when parked your car will be adjacent to a sign!! They aren't tiny either, and don't see how you can say stupidly placed - they're next to the bays in question. It's his fault if he didn't bother to read the signs.

This is the lead story of today's Newsletter (though uncharacteristically it has not occasioned any 'fury' as yet - merely a 'rumpus').

It says that in August

Cllr Judith Delgarno blasted the signs as "abysmal".
The signs have since been changed...

which may shed light on the above.

It is a shame that there was no picture of Cllr Delgarno 'blasting' the signs, i'm curious as to how that would look.