Safe Speed Forums

On the radio this morning was a report of a study showing that for the Newbury bypass - and one other in Sussex - traffic levels in the town are creeping up to their pre-bypass levels.

You would think that they would be pleased by the upturn in economic activity that this indicates. What is happening is that after the bypass is built, the council releases land adjacent to it for development. More traffic is thus created. So, it's not the bypass, it's the council's policy that actually causes the rise in traffic. The answer is in their own hands.

I don't subscribe to the argument that you "can't go on building roads". You can. Just look at any aerial photograph to see just how little area of the country is roadways. There is a limit based on the total driving population beyond which congestion would be reduced by more road space. Yes, I know that better roads facilitate more journeys but if you build enough roads then this problem will still be solved.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

You're dead right Malcolm!

Here's a BBC news report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5138912.stm

Actually it looks like the 'failure' claims are weak too, and generated by a biased source to boot.

When are they going to wake up the the idea that congestion is regulated by journey time, and always will be?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

The research was carried out by the CPRE; they could hardly be described as unbiased individuals!

Exactly right, I wonder why the councils can't see that

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

I live near the M27, and local roads are getting pretty congested, although some of this is down to bad traffic management designed to be anti-car. If the M27 didn't exist these roads would now be a nightmare; the main through routes would be at gridlock and people would be rat-running on residential streets to avoid the congestion, like they do to avoid the rephased traffic lights near my house.

The volume of passenger car traffic went up less than 1% in 2004 and zero in 2005.

It is not the increase in road traffic that is causing increases in congestion.

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Speed camera policy Kills

It often takes the same time to negotiate my local motorway junctions than it does to actually make the motorway journey. That includes 11pm at night, thanks to getting stopped by three consecutive sets of traffic lights on a simple roundabout interchange! Bring back part time signals!

As someone who has to drive from Staffordshire to the Portsmouth area several times a year, and has been doing this for aound 20 years, it is my absolute view that Newbury without the bypass was MUCH worse than Newbury now!

(Pre-bypass it was purgatory)

There ARE big jams around there still but that is to do with increased traffic in holdiday times IMHO

Since we recently twice saw Kendal choked - once with the A591 bypass traffic, then with the entire traffic load from the M6, which was closed due to a lorry fire, I can recommend a sure fire way of demonstrating the real benefit.
Block the bypass for a day!
It showed up Kendal's one way system for what it really is too - a real dogs dinner!

LORRIES queing for up to two hours to get into Kendal

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Yes, I thought the same thing when good old Radio 4 fed me the line about Newbury being "no better". I suspect it depends whose point of view you are looking at it from. The residents of Newbury may find it "no better"; The long distance users of the A34 may disagree.

This is of course analagous with lower speed limits. An awful lot of nimbys want a 30 limit (or lower ) outside their own house, but to be able to go fast outside other people's.

Newbury was blighted without the by-pass for the last 20 years. It has just woken up and found itself.

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

The reason why Newbury is now so busy is probably down to the fact that it is a more pleasant place to visit than when lots of container lorries and other through traffic passed through the centre.

As somebody who never wants to go any closer to Newbury than I have to, but also who needs a good route from the Midlands to West Sussex, I think that the by-pass is working perfectly, and in fact is a lot better now that they have sorted out the bridge for the M4 so that you don't have to queue for a mile there either. Going through Newbury was an absolute nightmare, now it is very nice thank-you.

It's normal for housing and industrial development to creep towards a bypass but not past it. It's happening here in Darlington with the A66 bypass.

Longer-distance traffic is lucky that the A34 Newbury bypass has grade-separated junctions so the local traffic doesn't tend to jam it up. We got a single carriageway bypass with 4 roundabouts in 5 miles (for cost-saving reasons) and the peak-hour delays at the roundabouts are spreading out of the peak because of the mix of local and long-distance traffic.

Defeats the comment that "Bypasses don't work" really, doesn't it?

Mansfield Bypass, absolutely brilliant, instead of taking an Artic through the town, fighting your way round tight corners and dodging traffic, and wasting fuel at countless numbers of traffic lights.
I can save about 20 minutes off a journey, thereby reducing fuel usage, and pollution.
Pity they have the real estate for a dual carriageway, but only built a two lane road.

A47 Thorney, the main drag from Peterborough to Wisbech, used to be a nightmare going through Thorney, a very small picturesque village.
It only took about 75 years of campaigning to get the bypass.
But, I bet the quality of life in Thorney has improved 100 or more fold, reduced noise and pollution and fuel usage.
And the journey once again has been reduced by about 15 minutes.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

Absolutely. I went uptown today (I normally walk, but had to drive today because I was getting a flat tyre repaired) and in a journey of less than two miles I had to go through nine sets of traffic lights, counting a roundabout as one set. Does anyone else think traffic lights are overused? No wonder cyclists sometimes roll through red ones

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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the kerb.

The Vine prog debated this. Lady from Newbury said that without the bye-pass - Newbury would be gridlocked as this traffic would be travelling through the town instead.

She say that ist busy und others also point this out - because they build out-of town shopping malls, retail und business parks along these bye-passes which lead to more traffic using them to reach these places.

But by und large - no one ringing into the show could prove that the bye-pass did not work for their towns in any case

I think it was on same day as this thread opened und was about 12-30 - 1 pm if people want to listen again on the R2 site.

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Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

Back home und in France - they move to amber flashing at night. This mean you treat as normal cross roads - crossing if safe to do so The amber alert to hazard und to take care.

:scratchin: I wonder if the red light cams France now seek to introduce will be set accordingly

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Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

Newbury - which houses the Vodafone HQ - is also about the UK's #1 economic hotspot and the place with the lowest unemployment. So it's hardly surprising that traffic levels in the town have risen!

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed