Lights and bus lane cause roads chaos (From The Argus)
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Lights and bus lane cause roads chaos
6:00am Friday 25th July 2008 in
A controversial new road scheme aimed at reducing congestion has created huge tailbacks and more than doubled commuting time.
The three mile bus lane on the A259 South Coast Road between Ovingdean and Telscombe Cliffs was opened on Monday but has caused traffic chaos and left motorists fuming.
And East Sussex County Council bosses tonight apologised to commuters and promised to take action to ease congestion on the route.
The new bus lane has taken up part of the road and traffic lights have replaced a mini roundabout at the junction of Longridge Avenue, Saltdean, and South Coast Road.
The scheme was expect to cut rush hour bus journeys but Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company managing director Roger French said it has instead added 45 minutes to some journeys.
Mr French said traffic was grinding to a halt because of the traffic lights and has called for the return of the mini roundabout.
The changes were introduced as part of a £1.8 million Sustainable Corridor scheme which will eventually see a bus lane between Brighton and Hove and Newhaven.
Comments(80)
Bob_The_Ferret
says...
10:52pm Thu 24 Jul 08
Deller
says...
10:54pm Thu 24 Jul 08
Bristol VR
says...
12:00am Fri 25 Jul 08
S.T. Rewth
says...
5:46am Fri 25 Jul 08
All this was planned?
I suggest ESCC get some new planners with some common sense.
whatithink
says...
7:26am Fri 25 Jul 08
What muppet thought that there needed to be a dedicated bus lane anyway? There's probably about 1 bus to every 1000 other vehicles, so a 5 year old could work out that there's no need to dedicate a whole lane just for buses.
Just crazy. And the irony is thst it's made the bus journey LONGER!!
Someone should lose their job over this.
JohnRebus
says...
8:08am Fri 25 Jul 08
Roger French wants the lights removed and the roundabout re-instated at the bottom of Longridge he should also consider stopping the lights being installed at the Texoco garage roundabout.
The lights at Longridge were swithed on last Friday and my bus journey home took 25 mins longer than normal. I recently purchased a annual bus ticket because according to Roger French the busses would glide through the traffic - well how wrong he is and now i wish I had not bothered with the bus pass!!!!
usher44
says...
8:25am Fri 25 Jul 08
But I expect the planners will say "there are a few teething problems" don't expect them to admit the whole concept is fundamentally flawed and the implementation a disaster.
When the roadworks for this project never achieved this amount of jam (except on one occasion) it has to be a first that the "improvement" is worse than the roadworks !
D R
says...
8:27am Fri 25 Jul 08
The roundabout at Longridge should be reinstated. The Bus lane could still be dedicated at this junction.
Also, most drivers and bus passengers will have noticed that the smoothest, quickest, journeys were also when the lights at Rottingdean were out completely.
One of the other troubles we now have is that the roads are a little lighter due to the kids breaking up, so any review, etc, is going to be masking the true extent of the problem and will no doubt leave officials saying the problem isn't as bad as first thought.
Far from being environmentally sound, this scheme has just resulted in more slow-rolling traffic emitting fumes unnecessarily.
I know a lot of money has been spent on this, but I think someone brave should come forward from the councils, swallow some pride, and admit that mistakes have been made
**************
King from Hove
says...
8:29am Fri 25 Jul 08
davyboy
says...
8:31am Fri 25 Jul 08
JohnRebus
says...
8:39am Fri 25 Jul 08
davyboy wrote:you do live along the south coast? / do you travel bewteen Newhaven and Brighton each day? I bet is the answer is no (abingdon?). The issue here all about the SERIOUS CONGESTION created by the introduction of lights and bus lanes - if you read the article you will see even the boss of the bus company is asking for the lights to be removed.
you cant blame the bus company for the councils ineptitude. traffic lights cause chaos wherever they are put. there was an exercise in holland/belgium some years ago where they removed all traffic lights and traffic flowed much better and accidents were cut. this was all because everyone was more careful . no-one was trying to jump red lights, and everyone was more courteous, something drivers have forgotten in this country. strage how the bus company gets blamed for everything. instead of sitting in the jams which you have caused, get on the bus instead, and take some cars off the roads. 1 person per car is such a selfish way to travel.
sdcrane
says...
9:34am Fri 25 Jul 08
In what way does having cars cut through a small village to avoid aforementioned traffic jam a good idea?
The continual reducing of traffic capacity on the roads, by removing lanes, installing pointless traffic lights, having bus stops in the middle of the road and islands popping up all over the place, do nothing to help the environment. They create congestion and increases pollution, pure and simple.
By all means have bus lanes and cycle lane, but not to the detriment to those of us who can't use them to do our everyday jobs and try to make a living.
But the council have apologised, so that's OK. I feel so much happier now. If I was that incompetent in my job I'd get fired, in local government it seems you get promoted.
Jayne
says...
9:40am Fri 25 Jul 08
I do hope on his slow drive home to Ovingdean in his gas guzzling Audi he sits in the jam and contemplates how his desire for this bus lane has made so many peoples lives a misery!
whatithink
says...
10:15am Fri 25 Jul 08
Extend the dual carriageway from where it ends just before Rottingdean all the way into Newhaven. The journey time would be halved, people wouldn't have to take shortcuts through picturesque villages, and the only people that may have to pay a price are those that live alongside the road. Everyone else would benefit.
But I don't think this is ever going to happen, do you?
Loopyloo
says...
10:50am Fri 25 Jul 08
In the evenings the tailbacks in the opposite direction were caused by the 2 lanes after the Rottingdean lights merging into 1, no-body wanting to give way to those racing up the outside lane in an attempt to beat the queue. Although this 2nd lane has now been removed there is still the problem of buses causing holdups due to bus stops - no-where to go in order to get round them other than straight into oncoming traffic. Add to that the ridiculous traffic lights at Saltdean - perhaps these are necessary in the morning, but definitely not in the evening rush hour. All in all....a total and utter, prize winning **** Up. I'm moving!
woundup
says...
10:55am Fri 25 Jul 08
and the poor bus driver's! a scheme supposedly ment to make their life easier has been completely ill thought out !!!
Someone need's to pull their finger out !!! and quickly .
Mat
says...
10:59am Fri 25 Jul 08
1 - two lanes of traffic are trying to merge to one after the Ovingdean roundabout. SLOW SLOW SLOW
2 - people will not and can not get out of their car and get on the bus because the buses are completely full - at the moment, overseas language students cram the bus to capacity, so oridnary people cannot get on. I have seen a driver have to stop the bus several times to stop people standing on the top deck, which is not permitted.
When the new lights at Rottingdean are unveiled (they have been under orange covers for the last 2 months), will this help matters?
Mr. Kipling
says...
11:27am Fri 25 Jul 08
Jayne wrote:So he lives in Ovingdean does he? Not what I`ve heard
Frenchie wanted this bus lane and he is now reaping the seeds he has sown, delays for his beloved buses.
I do hope on his slow drive home to Ovingdean in his gas guzzling Audi he sits in the jam and contemplates how his desire for this bus lane has made so many peoples lives a misery!
bug eye
says...
11:39am Fri 25 Jul 08
unfortunately it seems all of brighton and hove is being plagued with the riduclous bus stop build outs, lane narrowing, pedestrian islands etc. all to the peril of the tory council, we have the cycle lane disasters of grand avenue, and now the steine and north st. and sackville road. no one think they will escape more plans are afoot so they can introduce a congestion charge they have caused in the first place. god help the tourists businesses and and residents of this city whom the council rely on. these schemes will be the councils downfall. take note reverse these stupid systems.
Gerro
says...
11:42am Fri 25 Jul 08
Also, just out of interest why should we have to abide by 24/7 bus lanes, when we don't have 24/7 buses on most routes?? Why have the council turned swathes of our roads over to a private company for their exclusive use when they don't run a service that needs that road at all times of the day....??? Let's see just how "sustainable" this scheme really is...
Ronald
says...
12:04pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Flat Mat
says...
12:18pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Yes, action is required today. The Council is causing untold stress to everyone, thousands of people are effected.
Heads need to roll, as this has been so very badly thought out.
By playing with the Coast Road, they are palying with fire. Yes it's busy but before the Bus Drain it worked.
Now it's a complete mess.
Come on the Council, action today, sack the i*iots who came up with this, start looking after us the people.
Just get on with it, put the roundabout back in Saltdean, don't even dare to put the traffic lights in at Telscombe Cliffs Way.
Sort this mess out before we have to set up an Action Group.
What a loan of i*iots.
I also feel sorry for the residents of Ovingdean with the extra traffic etc.
GET ON WITH IT AND SORT OUT THE MESS. It's our money.....
Flat Mat
says...
1:10pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Road Report:-
Delays due to traffic light failure on A259 Marine Drive both ways at Longridge Avenue. Callers are reporting the lights are stuck on red and drivers are struggling to exit from Longridge Avenue onto the A259.
What a Mess!
tiggajack
says...
1:41pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Annoyed driver
rhinofish
says...
1:44pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Are the people who came up with this scheme the same ones who were responsible for closing North St and Western Rd to traffic and the bus lanes in London Rd? Ever since those changes were made Brighton has suffered from gridlock. Increasing journey times, pollution and road rage. Can we also have those stupid ideas reversed as well? Let the traffic flow again.
martreed
says...
1:50pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Anyone who has spent a few minutes watching what is happening will have realised that the principal problem is the new lights at Longridge Avenue. This is causing stationary traffic to back up beyond Ovingdean and by anyone's standards defeating the benefit of the exercise. Like many other correspondents I can't see why the mini-roundabout at Saltdean was such a bad thing - it never held up the traffic as badly as the new lights do. The new design of the Longridge Avenue junction takes buses out of the main area of the junction anyway so it would be very simple to reinstate the roundabout - but I think I can promise people it won't happen! Interestingly there has been nothing like the same degree of hold-up for westbound traffic - I made the journey this morning (by car as it happens) to Old Steine in under 15 minutes.
Rephasing the lights is worth trying. They must give priority to westbound traffic in the morning and eastbound traffic in the evening, something which I am guessing they don't do sufficiently at the moment. At least with the volume of traffic very light at the moment there is the chance to experiment with the timing and get it right before we get to September when everyone is back from holidays.
This scheme is far from perfect but let's at least try to get it right. Improved bus travel will help everyone - for one thing it will reduce the very high number of single-occupied cars on the A259 which in turn will make it easier for those who really do have to travel along there by car.
Dr Seagull
says...
2:12pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Does anyone know how this lane is policed? Why are there no signs if there are cameras in place. I am told that buses have cameras.....Has anyone seen one, or are they relying on council officials with mobile cameras to catch offenders?
whatithink
says...
2:37pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Dr Seagull wrote:There have been unsigned speed cameras in place for at least 2 years travelling eastbound just as you enter the 30 mph limit approaching Rottingdean traffic lights. They are 'average' speed cameras.
I have been using this road for over 25 years and have never known such chaos.Does anyone know how this lane is policed? Why are there no signs if there are cameras in place. I am told that buses have cameras.....Has anyone seen one, or are they relying on council officials with mobile cameras to catch offenders?
I thought all speed cameras had to be signed. These aren't. I bet they used to catch loads of people before this wonderful new bus lane scheme. Now I doubt whether anyone is actually able to do 30mph in that location!
Dr Seagull
says...
2:41pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Anyone else?
Jayne
says...
2:54pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Mr. Kipling wrote:According to Companies House he does.
Jayne wrote:Frenchie wanted this bus lane and he is now reaping the seeds he has sown, delays for his beloved buses.I do hope on his slow drive home to Ovingdean in his gas guzzling Audi he sits in the jam and contemplates how his desire for this bus lane has made so many peoples lives a misery!So he lives in Ovingdean does he? Not what I`ve heard
Flat Mat
says...
2:58pm Fri 25 Jul 08
They are not speed cameras they are the number plate recognition system.
They trace things like no tax, no insurance etc...
Dr Seagull
says...
3:03pm Fri 25 Jul 08
S.T. Rewth
says...
3:19pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Mart
says...
3:29pm Fri 25 Jul 08
The remaining traffic lanes are far too narrow - I have seen several lorries and large vehicles head towards one another, and narrowly miss on on the narrow stretch between Rottingdean and Saltdean.
All they had to do was take a metre or so of verge or pavement either side, and the width of the new lanes would of been fine.
It really is a typical piece of cheap and cheerful tat, and it is only a matter of time before there is a head on collsion on this now very dnagerous strech of road.
martreed
says...
3:32pm Fri 25 Jul 08
One of the (other!) reasons for the ANPR cameras at Rottingdean was to save the cost of providing a mobile unit to sit at the side of the road for days on end when there were party political conferences in Brighton.
djc
says...
3:37pm Fri 25 Jul 08
What a eco friendly scheme all these cars forming a queue going no where quick just polluting the atmosphere, guess the council are not going to hit their targets hope this does not mean an increase in our tax AGAIN
gobsmacked
says...
3:43pm Fri 25 Jul 08
I travel daily from Saltdean to Hove & what was a 35 minute return journey, now takes well over an hour !!
PUT IT BACK THE WAY IT WAS, & moreover, change the traffic lights in Rottingdean to a roundabout....I'm sure the traffic flow would be further improved !!
feline1
says...
3:45pm Fri 25 Jul 08
k.ranger
says...
3:47pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Many people have commented what most of us would agree with, but few have really picked up on the environmental impact of this "Road Improvement" that ESCC and B&H Councils have instigated.
Have these planners not realised that instead of reducing our "Carbon Footprint" they are in fact increasing it ten fold.
I may be wrong, but the term "Road Improvement" would suggest just that, which would include the free flowing of traffic. A point completely missed on the A259 scheme. Even the road surface resembles one of Peacehavens many un-adopted roads, and they have no intention of resurfacing it. Perhaps this is a form of natural road calming, as driving at 30mph, if that were possible, could send you out of control and cause an accident.
Are these people in the Council who come up with these schemes qualified? Or have they just been promoted to their level of incompetence?
Unfortunately anyone who thinks that these planners are capable of accepting that they have made an error, and will revisit this scheme with a view of correcting their mistakes are sadly mistaken. They've never done it before so why should they start now?
Added to all of this, the thought of any extra traffic that may be caused if Southern Waters dumb idea of putting a Sewage Plant at the back of Peachaven is passed by these Council Goons in the next few weeks horrifies me, and I'm sure many others residents of Peacehaven.
It is about time that these Councillors realise that they were voted into office to carry out our wishes, so if your reading this the Councillors of ESCC and Brighton & Hove, get to grips sort the traffic mess out. It won't go away so take your heads out of the sand, put your backsides in gear and get on and act.
feline1
says...
3:57pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Are the council staff who "planned" all this the same ones who were striking for a pay rise? lol
Flat Mat
says...
4:06pm Fri 25 Jul 08
They had said sorry.... but lets see how much of a u-turn we get?
usher44
says...
4:09pm Fri 25 Jul 08
marge
says...
4:11pm Fri 25 Jul 08
red
says...
4:48pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Bristol VR
says...
5:21pm Fri 25 Jul 08
garben
says...
6:07pm Fri 25 Jul 08
This money would have been far better spent towards providing a new access to the A27 from Peacehaven & Telscombe Cliffs.
Old Ale Man
says...
6:08pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Old Ale Man
says...
6:08pm Fri 25 Jul 08
annabelgiles
says...
6:10pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Currently, what has been previously a 15 minute journey is taking me between 30-45 mins; and some days it's actually quicker to do the very big circle to Rottingdean via Woodingdean.
Apparently, the point of this nightmare is to cut down on emissions and to encourage more people to take the bus. The result is that the residents of Woodingdean and surrounding areas find themselves in what is fast becoming a smog-filled area. And now that the bus is no faster than the car, why would anyone choose to sit on a sticky bus for that long?
In my opinion, that stretch of road should be returned to exactly how it was six months ago. Use the bus corridor only where it's needed. Let everyone pass through as quickly as possible. There's your solution: less fumes, more speed, perhaps I'll take the bus.
PS While I'm at it, it's just taken me 70 minutes to travel along the seafront from Wish Park to Kemp Town. Is it really necessary to have road works in the centre of town during peak tourist season?
Old Ale Man
says...
6:19pm Fri 25 Jul 08
no way will it work.
Please don't tinker with it, you'll make it worse and prolong our agony.
Admit you got it wrong scrap it and then sling your hooks.
SJB
says...
6:36pm Fri 25 Jul 08
This scheme has to be re thought big time before it is too late - we must take action now.
I am thinking of organising a petition and have spoken with local councillors who are in full support of this. What do you think??
I am happy to man the barricades if necessary.
panda_electrical
says...
7:14pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Don’t forget this is the council that slowed down the Newhaven One Way system by building the access road to the tower block that was refused planning permission because it was in their roads budget. We no have a road that goes nowhere.
Still hopefully the councils union will call them out on a permanent strike allowing folks to get on with their lives without these grandiose failures.
davyboy
says...
7:15pm Fri 25 Jul 08
JohnRebus wrote:i agree with you entirely. the lights SHOULD be removed. also correct, i dont live there anymore, but i did for many years and understand the problems you all face. traffic lights, especially badly timed ones, cause chaos. what i was trying to say is that where they were taken away, traffic flow improved, along with the drivers manners. as you know, when a set of lights fails, traffic flow does improve. i agree with roger french that the lights sholud be removed, but EVERYONE could help by using their cars less
davyboy wrote:
you cant blame the bus company for the councils ineptitude. traffic lights cause chaos wherever they are put. there was an exercise in holland/belgium some years ago where they removed all traffic lights and traffic flowed much better and accidents were cut. this was all because everyone was more careful . no-one was trying to jump red lights, and everyone was more courteous, something drivers have forgotten in this country. strage how the bus company gets blamed for everything. instead of sitting in the jams which you have caused, get on the bus instead, and take some cars off the roads. 1 person per car is such a selfish way to travel.you do live along the south coast? / do you travel bewteen Newhaven and Brighton each day? I bet is the answer is no (abingdon?). The issue here all about the SERIOUS CONGESTION created by the introduction of lights and bus lanes - if you read the article you will see even the boss of the bus company is asking for the lights to be removed.
ospsalison
says...
7:23pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Sussexsi
says...
8:44pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Also, don't feel too sorry for the inhabitants of Ovingdean having to put up with extra traffic - everyone else has to! Rottingdeaners have been putting up with it for years!
whatithink
says...
9:23pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Flat Mat wrote:No they don't. I have the speeding ticket to prove it. If you have speed camera recognition sensor ( which I do now) I assure you it's a speed camera.
WhatithinkThey are not speed cameras they are the number plate recognition system.They trace things like no tax, no insurance etc...
whatithink
says...
9:30pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Flat Mat wrote:No they don't - I have the speeding ticket to prove it. I'm sure a lot of people think that - and they are wrong - believe me!
WhatithinkThey are not speed cameras they are the number plate recognition system.They trace things like no tax, no insurance etc...
SM
says...
10:10pm Fri 25 Jul 08
unclesam
says...
10:28pm Fri 25 Jul 08
Saffron
says...
10:32pm Fri 25 Jul 08
As far as westward traffic is concerned if the island at Rottingdean on the east side had been moved about a metre/metre and a half to the north and lanes created as they have now for right turning traffic this would have enabled traffic passing through towards Brighton ( including buses ) to proceed without stopping and creating the traffic jam. There would have been no need for a bus lane. And there would have been ample room for 1 lane of traffic going eastwards.
The lights at Longridge are totally unnecessary and a waste of money and inevitably create problems.
Throughout the work being carried on the traffic in the rat runs of Rottingdean has increased dramatically and is likely to continue that way as traffic jams along the A259 will still be bad.
During the work it has been obvious that the Project Management has been a shambles. To my knowledge there have been at least 3 Project Managers at Brighton & Hove council, 2 having mysteriously moved to other jobs or away from the council.
I don't think anyone on the project has ever heard of critical path analysis otherwise the sequencing of work would have been very different.
A scandal of epic proportions. As has also been said I doubt that the designers of the scheme and/or project managers know the area well or have taken the trouble to spend time on the ground seeing for themselves the chaos that they have been designing and building. Hopefully sense will prevail and a long hard look will be taken ( as someone has said not during the school holidays ) with people being honest and big enough to admit mistakes have been made. And appropriate adjustments made perhaps after listening not to the inevitable and understandable torrent of abuse but to constructive ideas from people on the ground.
And finally, yes money would have been better spent looking at ways to add a route from Peacehaven/Telscombe to just north of Woodingdean and then to the A27.
But even I wince at what that would do to the countryside.
Jambo M
says...
3:27am Sat 26 Jul 08
whatithink
says...
8:08am Sat 26 Jul 08
Flat Mat wrote:Unfortunately I have to tell you that I have the speeding ticket that proves you are wrong! Since then I bought a device that alerts you to speed cameras, and sure enough, it bleeps when you approach that camera. So beware!
WhatithinkThey are not speed cameras they are the number plate recognition system.They trace things like no tax, no insurance etc...
titus
says...
10:29am Sat 26 Jul 08
Mr. Kipling
says...
10:30am Sat 26 Jul 08
Jayne wrote:Ah fair enough. He may have more than one house, as I know he has one in Hove too.
Mr. Kipling wrote:Jayne wrote:Frenchie wanted this bus lane and he is now reaping the seeds he has sown, delays for his beloved buses.I do hope on his slow drive home to Ovingdean in his gas guzzling Audi he sits in the jam and contemplates how his desire for this bus lane has made so many peoples lives a misery!So he lives in Ovingdean does he? Not what I`ve heardAccording to Companies House he does.
jays
says...
10:59am Sat 26 Jul 08
Flat Mat
says...
11:18am Sat 26 Jul 08
and when approaching Rottingdean a car travelling west was beeping and flashing her. He was in the wrong lane.
There is going to be a big one soon. mark my words.
Quote "it was scary as it was over the brow of the hill"
Listen Council... You are going to be sued big time when it happens!!!!
Flat Mat
says...
11:27am Sat 26 Jul 08
Beeping and swearing etc etc....
The whole thing IS A JOKE.
municipalman
says...
1:53pm Sat 26 Jul 08
municipalman
says...
2:08pm Sat 26 Jul 08
whatithink
says...
3:10pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Flat Mat wrote:I used to use that stretch of road daily (luckily I don't have to now) and it was obvious from day 1 that this was going to be a disaster. I'm no traffic expert, but I didn't have to be. Why is it that so called experts can't see the bleeding obvious?
I forgot to say I saw a car approaching Rottingdean from Saldean this morning and where the car lane merges with the bus lane (100 yards back from the lights) a car driver saw the merge late and tried to drive in to the side of a taxi behind me. Beeping and swearing etc etc.... The whole thing IS A JOKE.
Trying to create a dedicated bus lane without any road widening in that location was never, ever going to work. The road was busy enough anyway without trying to squeeze out some of the traffic, just to allwo a bus to have its own lane every 15 minutes.
I can't help but wonder how much the whole project cost. Does anybody know how much of our money has been wasted on this total stupidity?
Towsey
says...
5:49pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Coming out of Arndel Drive onto Marine Drive towards Brighton is a disaster - I have see at least 12 nr misses in the last week alone - Riding a motor cycle has become a nightmare - how anyone can think by stopping the bus in the centre of the Road wouldn't delay other buses needs a new job. I cant believe that anyone would change a system that worked so well without any problems.
How much has this cost the residents and business of Brighton and Lewis. I really don't think that the council care enough to make changes, to reverse this scheme, if they did they would have stopped the whole thing by now. The only thing that will work is some form of direct action ideas are welcome.
http://www.facebook.
com/group.php?gid=25
247431355&ref=mf
mikebtn
says...
9:26pm Sat 26 Jul 08
white vivaro
says...
10:13pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Stephen Wickham
says...
10:18am Sun 27 Jul 08
My home in Saltdean has a view of the A259 leading up to the new traffic lights, as soon as they were switched on the queues started, and at times of the day when queues rarely existed!
My terrible fear is that having spent all this money the council will find it impossible to backtrack and we will all be left with this nightmare chaos.
Who is culpable and who is going to take up this fight for the residents who are unlucky enough to live along side this disaster?
Shame on the people responsible, how did you ever get the job??????
longdog
says...
11:07am Sun 27 Jul 08
mrbester
says...
4:31pm Sun 27 Jul 08
The whole reason that mini roundabouts were installed throughout the country decades ago was because they were (correctly) deemed to increase traffic flow as distinct from a junction, whether controlled by traffic lights or not. To change the Longridge roundabout back to a restricted flow junction is pure idiocy by incompetents.
As noted above, when the lights were not working at Rottingdean, flow was surprisingly good considering that there are four roads converging there. I'm sure the box junction helped as well. Now with the two lanes eastbound forced into one, with the bus stop moved out from it's perfectly adequate lay-by (keeping the lay-by and the two lanes retains more room, whereas the westbound side doesn't need expanding for exactly the same reason; the bus stop is in a lay-by) a bottleneck is inevitable.
The afterthought of the merging as mentioned above is bound to cause an accident as those who don't want to turn into Rottingdean High Street have to move over; I too saw someone (not checking their mirrors, and in any case I was blocking their view) start to move over and narrowly avoid a cab that sped past me on the inside.
The only thing that is remotely good about the whole shambles is the crossing point at Longridge, but people have always been able to use the Lido subway if they really need to.
So: re-instate the roundabout for traffic flow, keeping the lights purely as a pedestrian crossing, instate a roundabout at Rottingdean, again with the lights as a pedestrian crossing, and for crying out loud, return the road from Rottingdean to Ovingdean back to standard dual carriageway. Having a bus lane from Ovingdean makes no sense whatsoever as any users will be clogged up just like everybody else at Rottingdean.
It took me 1 3/4 hours to get home on Thursday night. This direction has no roadworks. God help us when the school holidays are over.
Hisoneupship
says...
7:53pm Sun 27 Jul 08
Comments would be appreciated
BrightonBean
says...
8:08pm Mon 28 Jul 08
To reiterate what others have said; if I was as bad at my job as these planners appear to be I would no longer have to worry about the A259 as I wouldn't have a job!
Marshmallow
says...
12:05pm Tue 29 Jul 08
It is far worse than I could have possibly imagined. Before the road works started, going to and from Brighton was sometimes slow and frustrating but now I find myself becoming increasingly overridden with road rage. It takes twice as long and if you haven’t got buses and taxi’s zooming by on your left hand side, you’ve got some idiot trying to overtake on your right and squeeze in or the on coming traffic feels like it’s within inches of your wing mirror. Rottingdean’s bottle neck has always been a problem but it will be impossible to ever improve that in my opinion. The layout from Ovingdean to Saltdean can be summed up in one word… treacherous. I feel like I am driving in the gutter half of the time. The traffic lights at Saltdean are a catalyst in this huge problem, but the lights at the petrol station in Peacehaven haven't been swtiched on yet. Surely this will only make things worse?!
Who on earth thought that putting in a bus lane would improve congestion? The last thing I want to do at the moment is sit on a bus in hot weather for an hour to get to and from work… and that’s if the bus stops to let me on as by the time I need to go it is already full up with students!
Now the kids are off for summer we’ll start seeing reports that ‘it just needed to settle in’ and ‘things aren’t as bad as we all first thought’… I wonder what they’ll be saying when the kids go back to school in September…
Chris28gi
says...
8:29pm Thu 31 Jul 08
Scheme design (general enquiries) – Charles Walker, Project Manager
Access, health and safety or the site environment – Ian Butters, Supervisor
Why not call them and say you're piece on 0845 6080193
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