henryscat said:
Mr X said:
These roadworks will mean another set of lights on the journey from Castlefields roundabout to Redhill/Audi garage.
With temporary set included, the 2.5 mile journey will take in 15 sets of traffic lights, with 17 sets on the return journey.
That's counting pedestrian crossings though isn't it? And you'll never stop at all 15 in one journey.
No, maybe not, but for every set that you get stopped at, there will be a load of cars that gets stopped at the one that you didn't. Remember that it isn't just you in your car that stops. It could be 20+ people at some sets of lights. All of whom must start moving again afterwards and that takes time.
henryscat said:
The more time spent sitting at a red light means the more time you are on the roads before getting to your destination, therefore increasing the number of cars on the roads at a time. It's no wonder Stafford gets jammed up at rush hour [edit: and every other hour] -
It isn't lights jamming up Stafford - and compared to lots of places traffic jams in Stafford aren't really that bad - its the number of people driving!! Generally the increased traffic comes before the installation of lights, rather than the other way round....!
I think you have missed my point here. If I time my journey well and no-one presses the button at any crossings then I get home quickly. If I get stopped at one set of lights behind a few cars then the chances are I will get stopped at all the subsequent sets as it takes time for people in front to move off and get through the lights. My journey through town can even take 5-10 minutes longer sometimes. The worst places for getting stopped at every set are Foregate Street into Gaol Square and also the Lichfield Road Island.
henryscat said:
everyone is about 2 miles from home
Indeed... so there's a lot more people driving than need be!
That may be so but try telling that to someone who works a long way out of Stafford and in many cases it is not feasible to take the bus or train. Many (dare I say most?) people have no
realistic way to get to work without taking the car. The rest of the journey is fine until they get to the last few miles then they get stuck in traffic.
I do realise that roundabouts have a maximum capacity before they stop functioning and traffic lights are the only option. I am also aware that there are sets of traffic lights that do work well. The problem is that in Stafford we have traffic lights in such a high density that it is ridiculous. Take the Newport Road from the station as far as the cinema. This is 0.2 miles with 4 sets of lights (including crossings). This means that there is one set every 88 yards.
There are also locations where crossings have absolutely no purpose. Why is there are crossing on the lammoscote road that goes from the leisure centre. There is a perfectly good place to cross on the corporation street junction. I'm not sure why anybody needs to cross at that point as the only building on the other side is pennycroft court which is right on the junction anyway. Another example is the crossing by the Lamb. I
never press the button here as it is quicker to just wait for the Sainsbury's crossing to change then there are no cars on the one side and a queue of cars on the other so it is safe to cross. All that pressing the button does is adds to the Chell Road congestion!