Roadworks, Particularly When No Work Is Even Being Done.

[Chekhov 488]

Is Sheffield the roadworks capital of the UK at the moment ?

We all get annoyed stuck in traffic due to roadworks, but what is especially annoying is when they aren't even doing any work on the site (as is usually the case....).

After being regularly stuck in traffic on the way out to Deepcar, for a site where I never saw any work being done when I drove past at fourish , I phoned the Council to ask what are the costs and conditions of road closure permits.

I was shocked by the reply.

Apparently road closure permit is not that more expensive according to how long the road will be closed !

I could not believe it, surely it should be the opposite ? The permit should be by the day, or even better buy the hour, and very expensive at that. Maybe that would motivate the contractors to get the job done as soon as possible and lessen the disruption to thousands of people....

 

Quote from the council :

 

The charge for a Street works permit differs slightly depending on duration and type of road but speaking generally its around £300 per application. The price difference between a long duration and short duration isn’t significant................. however the majority of works in the areas you have referred to have been done under temporary traffic signals for which we do not charge this in line with most other local authorities.

 

Ah, that explains the ghost sites....

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Chekhov

[Rockers rule 673]

28 minutes ago, Chekhov said:

Is Sheffield the roadworks capital of the UK at the moment ?

We all get annoyed stuck in traffic due to roadworks, but what is especially annoying is when they aren't even doing any work on the site (as is usually the case....).

After being regularly stuck in traffic on the way out to Deepcar, for a site where I never saw any work being done when I drove past at fourish , I phoned the Council to ask what are the costs and conditions of road closure permits.

I was shocked by the reply.

Apparently road closure permit is not that more expensive according to how long the road will be closed !

I could not believe it, surely it should be the opposite ? The permit should be by the day, or even better buy the hour, and very expensive at that. Maybe that would motivate the contractors to get the job done as soon as possible and lessen the disruption to thousands of people....

 

Quote from the council :

 

The charge for a Street works permit differs slightly depending on duration and type of road but speaking generally its around £300 per application. The price difference between a long duration and short duration isn’t significant................. however the majority of works in the areas you have referred to have been done under temporary traffic signals for which we do not charge this in line with most other local authorities.

 

Ah, that explains the ghost sites....

 

I wounder if there's a cheaper rate at Bank holidays when the phenomenon of roadworks and no one working in them is prevalent  .

 

[Organgrinder 1,946]

As always, the powers that be, whether local government or national government, always do the opposite of what makes most sense.

We should never be short of a laugh in the UK as life in general is like one big long Carry On  film.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Organgrinder

[Rockers rule 673]

13 minutes ago, Organgrinder said:

As always, the powers that be, whether local government or national government, always do the opposite of what makes most sense.

We should never be short of a laugh in the UK as life in general is like one big long Carry On  film.

Love it Organgrinder  A sense of humour is something us in the UK excel at.

I was going to say especially us Jock's,  but after last night football  tis only the other side of Glasgow laughing 😢.

12 minutes ago, West 77 said:

Happens all over the country. I know a stretch of road just off a roundabout that had cones in place for about three weeks to make the road a single carriage way.  No work was done and a big lorry used to transport cone was parked in the closed lane throughout the closure.  Also during the day time  a bloke was sat in a van with hazard lights on to warn drivers about the situation.

Main Barnsley to Doncaster Rd yesterday. Small section of road (barrier) under repair, traffic lights. not bad heading out of Barnsley (but when isn't it 🤣) t'other way, queuing  all the way up to -  and way down the carriageway at the newly altered 'for better flow of traffic roundabout'  .

Obvious no real thought to the timing of the lights taken into consideration over which direction of travel had the greater volume. 

 

Keep safe its strange out there  .

[Chekhov 488]

There are YW works taking place near us which block the only main access road to about 150 houses.

The road has been closed for 9 days I think, and their licence runs till the 23rd "because it was extended from an earlier job by the council". I wonder if that would have happened if the bloke who extended it was being inconvenienced every day by it......

There is a diversion in place which requires all residents to drive 2 miles out of their way (e/w don't forget, so that's 4 miles) along single track roads . YWA said that "because there was a diversion in place the repair does not get priority".

Get this, for most of the time that  road has been closed you have actually been able to drive over it provided you exercise care. The barriers have been moved out of the way multiple times by angry residents only for YW at the weekend (!) to come back and reinstate them......

So, they have time to send out men at the w/e to put barriers back, but not actually do the job.

In fact YW could have kept that road open if they'd bothered to use road plates and/or ramps from the planed off road surface, but they couldn't be arsed.

Unbelievable.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Chekhov

[trastrick 866]

Happens all over the world! Toronto  is traffic hell.

 

A lot of it has to do with public policy.

 

There's just no love for motorists and their emissions belting fossil fuel engines.

 

The City Engineer was asked about the traffic jams and he said, honestly, our focus is on pedestrians and public transportation.

 

There's was even a sly chuckle involved on one mid town highway (Spadina "Expressway") that suddenly stops in mid town. Shut down by protesters, and their pols.

 

There was a three part message flashing on overhead banners. "If you were riding the subway you'd be home (at work) right now". 

 

So if you needed the car, or didn't work where to two subway lines went, f*** you!.

 

And don't ask about trying to get to that "world class" hotel next to theTown Hall, with luggage. The narrow alley way, if you can find it through the maze of one ways, closures, and dead ends is chocked with cars, so the "world class" traveler has to lug his suitcases from a neigboring parking lot, if he can find his way to one, with all the afore mentioned obstacles. (circa 2019) Even with the best GPS that money can buy.

 

Lol

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by trastrick

[Chekhov 488]

On 20/05/2022 at 16:32, trastrick said:

A lot of it has to do with public policy.

There's just no love for motorists and their emissions belting fossil fuel engines.

I think there is a lot in this.

The wasted time of motorists (and their passengers don't forget) is of minimal concern for the powers that be. When there is an accident on any motorway, once any injured are removed (or just stabilised) reopening it should be top priority. But it is not. I can remember getting in a huge M1 tail back just north of Tinsley viaduct. When we got to the front it was down to one lane, of four don't forget, so that explained it.

BUT ! There was no need for only one lane top be open. A caravan had been smashed up by a truck and its wreckage sprawled over road, I don't see how anyone could even have been injured, but if they had they'd long ago been taken to hospital. The second lane out had a small piece of ex caravan poking into its right hand side by a small amount, in fact it was so small one bloke could have moved it over (only about two feet  ! ) and the capacity of the road doubled. But whether it was excessive Health & Safety zeal or because nobody could be arsed it was inexcusable.

If 3000 vehicles with an average occupancy of 1.5 were delayed by one hour that's 4,500 hours in total, and at the national minimum wage that's £45,000, every hour...

Edited May 22, 2022 by Chekhov

[trastrick 866]

10 hours ago, Chekhov said:

I think there is a lot in this.

The wasted time of motorists (and their passengers don't forget) is of minimal concern for the powers that be. When there is an accident on any motorway, once any injured are removed (or just stabilised) reopening it should be top priority. But it is not. I can remember getting in a huge M1 tail back just north of Tinsley viaduct. When we got to the front it was down to one lane, of four don't forget, so that explained it.

BUT ! There was no need for only one lane top be open. A caravan had been smashed up by a truck and its wreckage sprawled over road, I don't see how anyone could even have been injured, but if they had they'd long ago been taken to hospital. The second lane out had a small piece of ex caravan poking into its right hand side by a small amount, in fact it was so small one bloke could have moved it over (only about two feet  ! ) and the capacity of the road doubled. But whether it was excessive Health & Safety zeal or because nobody could be arsed it was inexcusable.

If 3000 vehicles with an average occupancy of 1.5 were delayed by one hour that's 4,500 hours in total, and at the national minimum wage that's £45,000, every hour...

Well, they do have to have a complete post crash survey, so they need all their resources on the scene to facilitate that. They won't move anything until that's done.

 

An accident is one thing that can't be avoided, but the traffice jams we had resulting from four way stop signs on every street, traffic lights every two blocks, intentional narrowing of main arteries from four lanes to two,  lanes, bike lanes, and the reluctance to build highways is avoidable.

 

The result is traffic hell. It can take 2 hours just to get across the city in rush hour, and the wasted fuel and emissions from idling engines is something else.

 

That is avoidable.

 

Their answer?  More public transportation.  But Toronto has an artctic climate for almost 5 months of the year, so people won't walk through blizzards to stand at a bus stop, or go shopping for a load of groceries, and people still need cars for work, and the city needs its  delivery trucks, tradesmens vans ,  buses and taxis and such.

 

So, I just booked my ticket back to my low stress DR.  I survived the medical emergency, and I seem to be responding to the blood thinners, which I stopped today to see what happens. I may disappear from SF, which will no doubt please my critics.

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by trastrick

[Bargepole23 337]

On 20/05/2022 at 16:32, trastrick said:

Happens all over the world! Toronto  is traffic hell.

 

A lot of it has to do with public policy.

 

There's just no love for motorists and their emissions belting fossil fuel engines.

 

The City Engineer was asked about the traffic jams and he said, honestly, our focus is on pedestrians and public transportation.

 

There's was even a sly chuckle involved on one mid town highway (Spadina "Expressway") that suddenly stops in mid town. Shut down by protesters, and their pols.

 

There was a three part message flashing on overhead banners. "If you were riding the subway you'd be home (at work) right now". 

 

So if you needed the car, or didn't work where to two subway lines went, f*** you!.

 

And don't ask about trying to get to that "world class" hotel next to theTown Hall, with luggage. The narrow alley way, if you can find it through the maze of one ways, closures, and dead ends is chocked with cars, so the "world class" traveler has to lug his suitcases from a neigboring parking lot, if he can find his way to one, with all the afore mentioned obstacles. (circa 2019) Even with the best GPS that money can buy.

 

Lol

 

 

 

 

And yet billions are spent every year tarmaccing the world for the convenience of the motorist.

 

Pavement parking is tolerated so the motorist avoids a walk.

 

Deaths are tolerated, motorists get minimal sentences when they kill people. 

 

And here you are complaining there is no love for the motorist.

[Guest sibon]

I'm going to join team Checkov here. My pet hate is the miles of motorway restrictions, that allow a small amount of work to be done each day.

 

There are only a couple of companies who can do this sort of work, and they call the shots. It is time that motorway closures were limited to a couple of miles at a time. Rather that the 10-15 mile swathes locked down by average speed cameras. Slowing everyone down in order to drive profits for huge corporations.

[trastrick 866]

16 hours ago, Bargepole23 said:

And yet billions are spent every year tarmaccing the world for the convenience of the motorist.

 

Pavement parking is tolerated so the motorist avoids a walk.

 

Deaths are tolerated, motorists get minimal sentences when they kill people. 

 

And here you are complaining there is no love for the motorist.

Problem is, people can't live in a city of 6 million (GTA) without the vehicles that suppy and service the population.

 

Traffic is a necessary evil for a city.

 

But Toronto council have opted to prioratize pedestrians and cyclists.

 

That's their elected right, of course!

 

 

Toronto main thoroughfare, Yonge Street. 

 

Mid town

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by trastrick

[ECCOnoob 1,018]

To be frank, it doesn't look overly horrendous. I've seen just as bad traffic queuing along primary routes in Sheffield which has less than 10% of the population numbers.

 

I'm really not sure what your point is. All cities are prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.  They've been doing it for nearly 40 years.  I am no econmentalist  but even I know that something has to be done with our ever increasing dominance of car. It is simply not sustainable. Something has to be done and the key for all local authorities is getting the right balance, something which often fails to be met. As has been shown in our own city, it's either all too heavy one way or the other.

 

However, whilst I don't agree to every single traffic reducing measure, neither am I going to blindly accept that all Motorists are absolutely vitally dependant on their cars nor that complete freedom to do what they want is a feasible option either.

 

Directly knowing people in the the proper wilds of Canada I understand that certain areas have specific needs and will always require personal transportation. It is obvious that in places outside of big cities with vast swathes of nothing in between and temperatures reaching -15  -20, -30 degrees a car/truck is an absolute necessity.

 

However, even in the extremist of weathers you're not telling me that every single citizen in the Greater Toronto Area has a desperate and absolute need to keep hold of their cars. You are not telling me that every single element of their well integrated public transport system grinds to a halt for several months of the year with no alternatives.

Edited May 23, 2022 by ECCOnoob