Stafford Traffic.

Lucy

Lucy

Well-Known Forumite
I got past just after it had happened, there was an ambulance on scene. As I was coming into town 2 fire engines came out though.
 
YorkshirePud

YorkshirePud

Well-Known Forumite
Reminder:
An abnormal load movement is due to take place on Saturday 19 November 2022 travelling northbound on the A34 Stone Road, Stafford through the extents of the highway works.

To facilitate the abnormal load, it will be necessary to temporarily close the A34 in both directions between Yarlet Lane and Redhill roundabout for a period of approximately 1 hour between 08:30 and 11:00 on 19 November whilst the cones and cylinders through the section of roadworks are removed and replaced. For safety reasons, it will not be possible to permit traffic, (except emergency blue light vehicles) to travel between the closure points until the cones and cylinders have been reinstated once the abnormal load has passed through, which we expect will be approximately 1 hour after the road closure is implemented.

The abnormal load, travelling from GE in Stafford to Ellesmere Port, measures approx. 66m long x 5.4m wide and weighs 345t. The load will be escorted by Staffordshire Police who will work alongside our contractor’s traffic management team to manage the load through the works area as swiftly as possible, however we are expecting a significant amount of disruption as a result of this movement.

Electronic variable message signs (VMS) are installed at strategic locations on the A34 to provide advance notification of the closure and to advise road users to use alternative routes where possible. Unfortunately, due to the size of the abnormal load there are a number of factors outside of our control which will affect the exact timing of the closure, and therefore we’re unable to state the exact time of the closure. For this reason the VMS signs will initially show the closure between 08:30 and 11:00 but this will be updated on the morning of the movement to provide more accurate timings based on the progress of the abnormal load movement.

The load will continue northbound on the A34 under police escort towards the Staffordshire/Cheshire boundary.
We apologise for any inconvenience.

Further abnormal load movements are due to take on Saturday 3 December, Tuesday 13 December and Monday 19 December 2022. Further information to confirm estimated times will be provided here shortly.

Info taken from SCC website at https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Highways/roadworks/stafford/A34-Stone-Road.aspx
 
joshua

joshua

Well-Known Forumite

Abnormal loads travelling northbound from Stafford will lead to 3 full closures of the A34 on three days in December – including two weekdays.​


The closure on both carriageways of the A34 will take place for a one-and-a-half-hour period between 8am and 11am on Sat December 3rd from the Redhill roundabout to Yarlet Lane, where the current ongoing roadworks are. People planning on travelling at this time should allow additional time to take the diversion route.


For safety reasons, no vehicles will be allowed on the route during the closure period while the load passes through. It will be escorted by police, and the closure will be lifted as soon as possible.


Further temporary closures on the same stretch of road will need to take place on Tuesday, December 13th and Monday, December 19th, both between 9.30am and 1pm.


Electronic variable message signs will be in place to warn motorists of the closures and advise using other routes. These will be updated on the morning of each closure with more precise closure times as the load progresses.


Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport David Williams said:


“With these abnormal load movements along the A34 there is limited flexibility.

“While the closures will only be in place for around one-and-a-half hours, we do need the three-hour slot to accommodate the transportation along this section of road. Signs will be updated with more precise times on the morning of each closure.

“We’d like to thank people for their patience and understanding during this period.”
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Cue

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Cue said:
Yeah I discovered they’d finally change it yesterday, with an unnecessarily complicated machine that people seemed to struggle to use.

And yeah… it takes a good 5-10 seconds to spit out the voucher, so most people miss it. I assume this is deliberate as I imagine Sainsbury’s get the money back from the council…?
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I’m not sure if this system is preferable at this point… instead of having to carry a couple pound coins I now have this awkward cashback system where I get a quid from my debit account every time I go to Sainsbury’s.

As they own the majority of their carparks there’s no system in place for you being able to get a quid off your shop for the few they don’t own, so they have to give it back as coinage.

Edit: oh, I just walked up to it now and there is actually a coin slot, I could have sworn the other unit didn’t have one though
 
The Hawk

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Cue said:
I’m not sure if this system is preferable at this point… instead of having to carry a couple pound coins I now have this awkward cashback system where I get a quid from my debit account every time I go to Sainsbury’s.

As they own the majority of their carparks there’s no system in place for you being able to get a quid off your shop for the few they don’t own, so they have to give it back as coinage.

Edit: oh, I just walked up to it now and there is actually a coin slot, I could have sworn the other unit didn’t have one though
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As I have been cashless for several years, I've avoided the Council car parks in Stafford. Now that the Chell Road car park has the new machines, I've started visiting Sainsbury's again.

I prefer the self-checkouts, but I now find myself using the staffed ones again, as if you use the staffed ones, they will knock the car park fee off your shopping, thus avoiding ending up with cash.
 
c0tt0nt0p

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
Driving back from Stoke this afternoon (4pm ish) and soon after getting on at J15 the matrixs flashed showing the inside lane was closed for an accident and a 40mph speed limit....

This carried on for 3-4 miles then all of a sudden a car flashed through doing what seemed to be over 100mph followed by 3-4 police cars, one from Cheshire and one from Wales...

Post services I spotted what seemed to be a snug officer walking back to his car with a stinger..... Low and behold traffic backed up at j14 as they appeared to have caught their person....👏
 
GNM67

GNM67

Well-Known Forumite
c0tt0nt0p said:
Driving back from Stoke this afternoon (4pm ish) and soon after getting on at J15 the matrixs flashed showing the inside lane was closed for an accident and a 40mph speed limit....

This carried on for 3-4 miles then all of a sudden a car flashed through doing what seemed to be over 100mph followed by 3-4 police cars, one from Cheshire and one from Wales...

Post services I spotted what seemed to be a snug officer walking back to his car with a stinger..... Low and behold traffic backed up at j14 as they appeared to have caught their person....👏
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I think I saw a bit of the chase 2 unmarked cars zoomed past blue lights flashing
 
The Hawk

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
c0tt0nt0p said:
Driving back from Stoke this afternoon (4pm ish) and soon after getting on at J15 the matrixs flashed showing the inside lane was closed for an accident and a 40mph speed limit....

This carried on for 3-4 miles then all of a sudden a car flashed through doing what seemed to be over 100mph followed by 3-4 police cars, one from Cheshire and one from Wales...

Post services I spotted what seemed to be a snug officer walking back to his car with a stinger..... Low and behold traffic backed up at j14 as they appeared to have caught their person....👏
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I wouldn't be surprised if the police deliberately blocked the three outer lanes at junction 14. Any car being chased down the inside lane would then be automatically forced off at 14, as that inside lane becomes the slip road.

Relatively easy 'trap' to lay, given enough time to organise which, in this case, it sounds like there was.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The Hawk said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the police deliberately blocked the three outer lanes at junction 14. Any car being chased down the inside lane would then be automatically forced off at 14, as that inside lane becomes the slip road.

Relatively easy 'trap' to lay, given enough time to organise which, in this case, it sounds like there was.
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I was going round J14 once, on a pushbike, and there was nobody else there, until a copper suddenly bounded out of the hedge and dragged a Stinger over the slip road. It quickly became clear that whoever the target was had either been stopped already or had managed to progress past the junction. The former seemed more likely, as there was no audible sign of a chase. I made some sort of obligatory flippant comment about a 'bit of overkill' and 'being prepared to come quietly', as he folded it all back up again.
 
c0tt0nt0p

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
The Hawk said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the police deliberately blocked the three outer lanes at junction 14. Any car being chased down the inside lane would then be automatically forced off at 14, as that inside lane becomes the slip road.

Relatively easy 'trap' to lay, given enough time to organise which, in this case, it sounds like there was.
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Only in this case the car has gotten back into the other lanes as it has come to a stop over the junction following the stinger...
 
littleme

littleme

250,000th poster!
GNM67 said:
I think I saw a bit of the chase 2 unmarked cars zoomed past blue lights flashing
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There have been 2 about in Stafford constantly over the 4 days, ive had to pull over to the kerb twice, and twice I've been walking on the Stone Rd when they've gone racing past.....today was the last time I saw them
 
c0tt0nt0p

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
littleme said:
There have been 2 about in Stafford constantly over the 4 days, ive had to pull over to the kerb twice, and twice I've been walking on the Stone Rd when they've gone racing past.....today was the last time I saw them
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With three lanes of traffic doing 40mph, there will always be spaces for a driver to try and sneak in.... The fact they had been stung probably accounted for their undoing....
 
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