Does anyone drive down this road and been confused by what the council have done?

My neighbours and I have been saying ' its an accident waiting to happen'.

It happened yesterday.

Old lady didn't know what to do.

Breaked heavily, and got hit by a bus spinning her into the wall. She was badly shaken, but fortunatly not hurt.

We are worried when the full thing is commissioned we will end up with a truck hitting our houses.

I would like to start a log of this area, so if anyone has thoughts on it, I would like to know.

I am not going out the front of my house now and picking up the keep left signs, as there are now four flat ones. People just keep driving straight through them.

The council and police don't seem to care.

Just curious, but are you the lady I saw stood at the side of the road making notes?

As for what they are doing, it would seem to be a bus gate like the one on the run down to Brook Hill roundabout outside the University. I agree, however, it is choas. The road markings as they stand, with the keep left signs, are totally confusing.

Thanx Markwit

no mate, I am a male. T'was not me.

Did you see the accident or its repecussions? You say someone was taking notes. Happened about 2pm Thursday 10th 2005.

All info is greatfully accepted.

Glad to know at least one person thinks we are not mad about this change;)

And BTW it is all the more cofusing 'cos I've stopped putting them up again.

Originally posted by GabbleRatcht
Thanx Markwit

no mate, I am a male. T'was not me.

Did you see the accident or its repecussions? You say someone was taking notes. Happened about 2pm Thursday 10th 2005.

All info is greatfully accepted.

Glad to know at least one person thinks we are not mad about this change;)

OK, from memory, I was driving up Chesterfield Road just before midday on Friday, when, as I approached the 'bus gate' I noticed a lady stood on the left taking notes.

I didn't see the accident, but it doesn't surprise me. I have always thought it is an accident waiting to happen.

As for the alterations, the whole thing has made it worse IMO. OK, I can understand the bus gate giving priority to Buses, but you can no longer cut down the bus lane - during the correct hours of course - to turn left at Abbey Lane. The problem is further down. All they have done is moved the bottle neck further up Chesterfield Road. Now Bocking lane is being affected as drivers - like me - take that route instead.

Thanx mate. Sleep easy.

And you are right. They have put this dagerous 'bus gate' on the A61 outside my house so the busses can get into the traffic jam through Woodseats 60 seconds earlier.

Solves nothing. It will be removed before it actually lights up.

BTW, she wasn't an official looking lady. No orange jacket, and making notes on Post-Its. A local residant I assume.

Totally agree with all that's been said. The new road layout is madness. How anyone could possibly think it would work is beyond me.
All of a sudden, traffic heading down the hill is expected to drive to the RIGHT of the island that's in the middle of the road, whereas a few seconds earlier (at the pedestrian crossing) they have passed to the LEFT of a similar island. Confusion all round I think.

I will reserve judgement until it is finished, but it is awful at the moment - most of the hill you have a bus lane and a car lane, which works OK, but then you get to the location being discussed and suddenly the two lanes merge into one - I'm surprised more cars haven't been hit by buses!

As a bus user, sounds good that the traffic lights will stop the cars to let the bus out in front at the end of the bus lane approaching the Woodseats bottleneck, but am dubious about how well it will work, plus of course there is normally a traffic jam the length of Woodseats centre itself anyway, due to the combination of only one lane of traffic and having traffic lights every few yards!

I use this road most days and have often wondered just how it will operate when everything's finished and switched on.

Coming down from Morrisons there's a new set of lights and what appears to be a bus lane, although I'm sure there always seem to be cars parked in it.

Then the bus lane and the ordinary vehicle lane merge somewhere around the site of the Catholic Church.

Who has priority? buses or cars? It all seems very confusing.

And as you get to around the Abbey pub there are another couple of sets of traffic lights.

There used to be a speed camera there. I forcast that when the so-called improvements go live that there will be an endless queue of traffic up to Meadow Head.

Therefore, no need to replace the speed camera.

Woodseats is a bonnet-to-bonnet traffic jam as things are, thanks to the 'improvements' that were inflicted on the A61 a while a go.

I reckon that the Abbey Lane work will just compound the problem and lead to more traffic backing up etc.

Does this mean that drivers will look for alternative routes, leading to other streets becoming rat runs?

Hi Dishwasher

the idea is that, at the island just b4 the church, going into town, the traffic lights will detect a bus at the bus stop, as they have transmitters in them. Turn the traffic lights for cars and trucks red and the light on the bus lane green so it can get into the Woodseats traffic jam a few seconds earlier.

Why don't they just leave the road as is, nothing can get past the bus when it is at the stop, no confusing islands to swerve around and WE LOOSE A SET OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS!!

The thing that gets me is the way the "car lane" merges into the bus lane (with traffic lights!). So essentially, you travel northbound down the hill to suddenly find a concrete traffic island directly in front of you. One day that traffic island will be taken out by accident. I have serious reservations. Makes you wonder why the big switch on is taking an age doesnt it? Maybe the highway dept is also having reservations.

this is all true,i i drive up and down there at least 3 times a day, its only cos the cones are there that you dont have people trying to use 2 lanes goign up, as it used to be. the whole thing seems to be a waste of time. Woodseats has horrible traffic, but it used to run a bit smoother with people wanting to get down abbey lane just chipping thru the bus lane. Now they have blocked this off people will have to queue even longer!

BTW the council have also decided to dig up the A61 again due to the adverse camver.

So, be prepared for more delays whist this is done. Then they will probebly re think the nonsence again, and take it all out.

We have had a letter saying they are altering it, ie the camver, not the islands, but not when.

Originally posted by bigflesh
So essentially, you travel northbound down the hill to suddenly find a concrete traffic island directly in front of you. One day that traffic island will be taken out by accident. I have serious reservations.

After some further thoughts, a head on would not surprise me in the slightest. A serious accident waiting to happen. On the councils head be it.

Originally posted by bigbladerob
this is all true,i i drive up and down there at least 3 times a day, its only cos the cones are there that you dont have people trying to use 2 lanes goign up, as it used to be. the whole thing seems to be a waste of time. Woodseats has horrible traffic, but it used to run a bit smoother with people wanting to get down abbey lane just chipping thru the bus lane. Now they have blocked this off people will have to queue even longer! I always go into the bus lane at Morrisson's and incessantly flash the car in front warning it to place itself in front of me. sometimes the car will go into the left lane and thank me, sometimes it'll go as far in the right lane as possible, then stop and put its indicator.

For the love of god of reason, common sence and logic put Chesterfield Road/Meadowhead into a 2 X 2 from Woodseats (Well Granville Road roundabout really) to Greenhill roundabout I beg of you.

These latest road alteration are only proof of the imbecility of SCC and Street Force, creating problem and frustrations for car drivers, bus drivers and pedestrians who, annoyed at waiting ( mins to cross, just cross while traffic is still moving.
Do something: Think !

Not so long ago, there was sufficient width on the A61 from Meadowhead almost to the start of Heeley for TWO (sorry if capitals offend some people) lanes of traffic.

The road planners (is it the council?) have seen to it that it has now gone to a SINGLE carriage way.

Why have the planners done this? To go from two initially to just one, at a time when road usage is increasing, seems insanity to me. Unless they want to discourage car drivers. What other explanation could there be?

Thanks for your explanation GabbleRatcht. It sounds like one of those hair-brained ideas that planners seem to love.

Sounds great when explained in a committee room. Excellent in theory.

But when is has to be used in reality - if your explanation is correct - it sounds like an accident between a bus and a car waiting to happen.

Bus drivers will assume it's their right of way, because they have the technology, and (as experienced through almost 30 years of driving) bus drivers assume they have the right to just plough on regardless.

But some car drivers (and I must say I'm not in this category) think they own the road and are bound to try and nip in before the bus on the bus lane.

Carnage. That's my prediction. In addition to the normal Woodseats traffic jam.

There are a lot of businesses along Woodseats. I wonder what those entrepreneurs feel about all the changes that have taken place.

Some of their livelihood must depend on passing trade, or whatever business gurus call it thses days.

I'd like to know if the business community was consulted about all these changes and whether their views were taken into account when Woodseats was turned, in effect, into a traffic jam.

C'mon Rubydazzler, let us know your views on all of this!

Do any emergency services drivers read the forum? Your views would be appreciated.

I was driving away from town past Abbey Lane the other morning and saw an ambulance in the mirror. Because of the coning and islands, I had nowhere to go to get out of the way, so just accelerated to try and get past the obstructions as quickly as possible. I was able to pull over opposite Morrisons where the road widens again, but what can drivers do in the rush hour?

I sincerely hope that the transmitters you mention, GabbleRatcht, work for shifting traffic backlogs out of the way when the emergency crews need to get through.

Maggi,

people have to drive onto the pavement outside my house to let emergency vehicles past. This is an A road for heavens sake.

Originally posted by GabbleRatcht
people have to drive onto the pavement outside my house to let emergency vehicles past

No front garden then? :wink:

OK, from a pedestrian point of viw the changes around the Meadowhead/Abbey Lane junction look reasonable at first glance. They're putting in a proper crossing there which I guess is going to replace the zebra crossing on Abbey Lane which is sited just past Spar. It's important that particular zebra crossing is upgraded because it's a serious accident waiting to happen. Drivers turning left off meadowhead on to Abbey lane don't get proper sight of the crossing until too late and quite often some vehicles are actually accelerating as they cross it, even when people have actually stepped onto the crossing. Coming from the other direction along abbey lane towards meadowhead many drivers just ignore the zebra crossing anyway. That particular section of Abbey lane needs a traffic light controlled crossing to ensure the safety of people crossing. A properly visible traffic light controlled crossing in place of the zebra crossing just past Spar would be my preference. From a driver's point of view the new crossing at the Abbey Lane/Meadowhead seems like an insane place to stop the traffic to let pedestrians cross. Getting through woodseats is a crawl as it is. This is only going to slow things down even more.

Originally posted by dishwasher
I use this road most days and have often wondered just how it will operate when everything's finished and switched on.

Coming down from Morrisons there's a new set of lights and what appears to be a bus lane, although I'm sure there always seem to be cars parked in it.

Then the bus lane and the ordinary vehicle lane merge somewhere around the site of the Catholic Church.

Who has priority? buses or cars? It all seems very confusing.

And as you get to around the Abbey pub there are another couple of sets of traffic lights.

There used to be a speed camera there. I forcast that when the so-called improvements go live that there will be an endless queue of traffic up to Meadow Head.

Therefore, no need to replace the speed camera.

Woodseats is a bonnet-to-bonnet traffic jam as things are, thanks to the 'improvements' that were inflicted on the A61 a while a go.

I reckon that the Abbey Lane work will just compound the problem and lead to more traffic backing up etc.

Does this mean that drivers will look for alternative routes, leading to other streets becoming rat runs?

I haven't read all of the responses to this thread yet, but on personal experience (using this route both ways _every_ day) this response hits the nail on the head.

God knows how much they've spent on all these A61 "Improvements" around Woodseats so far, but so far all they have done is manage to make Woodseats twice the bottleneck it ever was before (and I for one can't see this situation changing much as and when the Abbey Lane lights etc. finally get switched on..)

Perhaps they're waiting for Peter André and Jordan to come and officially switch 'em on? It wouldn't surprise me - more money "well spent"...

Not.

Thought EXACTLY this myself about the alterations. All that money to creat a monumental jam. I used to go from Morrisons and cut off down Abbey Lane, now I'm just in the queue all the way and so don't go to Morrisons any more.

This came just around the same time as streetforce erected bottle bank sites without consulation in Bradway and Dore. Time and money spent and then they were all removed when residents protested. It seems they like wasting ratepayers money without even speaking to them.

I'll bet in 2-3 years it will be all change again when local businesses, esp Morrisons, protest that the new arrangements are costing them money.