Safe Speed Forums

I live on the outskirts of a city. I have 2 dangerous areas of my commute, which is mainly down to poor road planning.

The first is in my residential street - they've recently put bollard-barriers on alternating sides of the road (with priority and give way directions) to slow down traffic. So traffic must weave left and right. Not got a problem with this. My only concern is the location of the bollards seems to have just been left to chance -- they're on the most dangerous corners as the road curves round the houses (meaning drivers have to go onto the other side of the road at really bad blind spots and there's a couple only a few feet either side of a T-junction).

The second problem I have is that in the city centre there are 2 lanes of traffic which aren't marked with directions. There is the ability to turn right, the ability to go straight on. With logic, the right-lane should be turning right, the left lane should go straight on. Since there are no lane markings, the people sitting in the right-hand lane often just drift into the left-stright-on lane halfway through the junction.

I wasn't going to bother actually complaining about any of these things to my local council, and have bit my tongue since December when I was almost wiped out at Problem Spot #1 by a double decker bus supposed to be giving way yet failing to see me on my scooter due to aforementioned blind spots, yet yesterday I was almost hit by a taxi at Problem Spot #2 who had been in the right-hand lane but wanting to go straight ahead.

Questions:

1) Problem #1 has had millions spent "improving" the roads around my house, and the project has been going on for months, so they're unlikely to change the bollards now, right?

2) Problem #2 has been like this for years, and I don't know if there's even been any accidents there. So maybe I'm the only one with concerns.

Is it worth me complaining to the council about these concerns? If I wrote a letter to my council expressing concern at those two traffic spots, does this sort of thing get put "on file" so that they might eventually fix it/realise they've had warning from the public WHEN (not IF) a bad accident happens?

Am I going to waste my time this afternoon typing up a letter which might just get binned, when I should be working anyway?

Sarah.

It's certainly worth taking the time to write a letter if you have serious concerns over bad road planning. The council are required to at least consider your points and may do something about it.

It's always best to send a proper snail-mail letter rather than e-mailing them.

Here's a precedent for a daft scheme being changed following public complaints on Broadstone Road, Stockport.

If you get no joy from the council it can be worthwhile writing to your local newspaper too.

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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

i can think of 4 locations locally where these give way chicanes have been put in.

one set is in a 30 and they manage to place the giveway line & bollards before the blind crest of a small hill.

the other is NSL to 30 through a village again giving way on the way in as you approach a crest.

in both cases even at 30 it can be touch & go if someone appears at the wrong time, from stationary its even worse.

my colleague has indeed complained about one set and rather than take it onboard he got a reply justifying their use & positioning (not very well!).

We have a chicane in Windermere placed on a bend, and before it was installed, I voiced my concerns about it being dangerous.
Sadly, NOTHING was done, nor will be unless somebody dies.
They dont even worry about the possibility of people dying nowadays - I am sure they actually have a value on a life - above which it is acceptable to place people at risk in order to save money or hold up traffic for their own ends.

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

I have a problem with new signage put up in my street, ostensibly to 'protect' the local primary school. I won't bore you with the details as they're already mentioned in another thread.

I took the time to visit my local councillor during an evening surgery and discussed my concerns with him. He agreed with me that the signage is inappropriate and has contacted the roads department suggesting a change. (the change he's suggested won't work, but that's another story ) Once I see what action they decide to take I may or may not have to take it back to the councillor or directly to the roads dept.

IMO, it is never a waste of time to voice your concerns. Most people complain but don't do anything. They can't fix it if they don't know it's broken!

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Less Kodak, more Kojak.
In times of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Mrs M- we've got a councillor like that , and he's trying to convert more to his cause - always a good idea ( with May/June elections coming up ) to get one involved ---sometimes they would like to kick the speed idea into touch, but are out voted.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

We've just had some madness break out, on the A58 just out of Rochdale.

They have installed a new pedestrian crossing / traffic island, and new set of lights, within about 30 yards of an existing junction.

In one direction (towards Littleborough), the road is now rather abruptly "pinched" into one lane. So whereas before there were jams at peak times, there are now jams for most of the day. It has also now made the junction almost impassable for the emergency services, during busy periods. This is especially concerning, as there isn't really a viable alternative route.

The stated purpose was to improve the traffic flow, and make the road safer . At this point, in time the council are largely unrepentant. This is inspite of a number of complaints and a negative article in the local paper.

Obviously these build outs have been put in he wrong place, so it would certainly be worth writing to your LA - your councillor my be a better bet to start with. As for the lane markings, with council employees being so stretched these days, it may be that noone knows that this problem exists, so by highlighting it there's much more chance something might be done (especially something as low cost as lining)

Incidentally, I work for a LA and this is exactly the sort of feedback that we love, it means that we can target specific problems that none of us are even aware of.

something of a hobby horse of mine ...

if we see road design that we feel is either dangerous or badly planned, it's our duty to complain ... or rather, using the political process to ask for clarification why a particular design has been adopted whilst highlighting concerns.

It makes more sense than just whinging in the pub (or on the web), or saying "I knew an accident would happen" as the blue lights flash and the emergency services brush up what's left of someone's son or daughter.

BY THE SAME TOKEN it is our duty to request clarification when a speed limit is set inappropriately (both too low or too high).

In my utopia this kind of request would have a mandatory response requirement on the local authorities, and if the road design or speed limit was found to be lacking then it would be rectified. Of course in my utopia there would be no scope for saying "but the speed limit was set too low just to raise cash" as you received your £500 NIP and 3 points!

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.