Reading IDR update
Discussion
Puggit said:
Stevie, I don't think he's having a go at you 
Have you driven this road? It is dripping with utter stupidity and the layout is primed to cause frequent accidents.
At the very base level it is against human nature.
I beleive i have driven the road 2 or 3 times but not during rush hour. so cannot comment on rush hour conditions. Have you driven this road? It is dripping with utter stupidity and the layout is primed to cause frequent accidents.
At the very base level it is against human nature.
The main problem i see is that there are 2 distinct approaches to highway design and transport planning
1) a councils approach
&
2) a private consultancy firms approach
The private consultancy firm is a better bet in most instances but the ones who have been subcontracted work from councils are not indipendent consultants as the majority of staff have transfered from the local council (via TUPE regulations)
Steve
Puggit said:
stevieb said:
Baldylocks said:
Puggit said:
At the very base level it is against human nature.
It really is silly. You just end up with loads of people having to force their way into the left hand lane only to change back again once past the hatching - whats the point?
The point is that it creates a bottle neck outside the town or city, which will then help the council obtain a good mark in the KPIs (key Performace indicators). If the congestion is out of the city the councilors are not really tht bothered as this is in a rural location then the airpollution cause by congestion in the city is reduced.
Anther common KPI is for better journey times across the city, it is achieved the same way by creating bottlenecks outside the city in suburban areas this can be by dodgy traffic signals, cycle lanes poor road layouts etc.
There are people out there that are criticising the councils approach to this but there is no real ways of punnishing the council as if you punnish the council you punish the council tax payers. The only thing i have been involved with is the auditing of every road scheme and the indipendent monitoring of a council who is a serial offender of twisting the rules to get them more funding.
Edited by stevieb on Wednesday 12th September 16:55
Baldylocks said:
stevieb said:
I can answer this one but its not going to be liked again!!!
The point is that it creates a bottle neck outside the town or city, which will then help the council obtain a good mark in the KPIs (key Performace indicators). If the congestion is out of the city the councilors are not really tht bothered as this is in a rural location then the airpollution cause by congestion in the city is reduced.
Thanks for that Steve. I thought it might be something along those lines The point is that it creates a bottle neck outside the town or city, which will then help the council obtain a good mark in the KPIs (key Performace indicators). If the congestion is out of the city the councilors are not really tht bothered as this is in a rural location then the airpollution cause by congestion in the city is reduced.
Does the council view the two bridges as usefull bottle necks too? Theres been talk over the years of building a third bridge, don't think anythings ever come of it though.
The problem is that to build a 3rd bridge, the land used will belong to 3 different councils! On the South side the A3290 lies in Wokingham, on the North side, the A4155 lies in Reading. In the middle the land belongs to Oxfordshire. RBC and WBC are pro 3rd bridge, Oxon will not permit it, and have blocked it since the 1930s! The land within Oxon has no homes anywhere near the planned bridge.
Rob Wilson (Tory MP for Reading East) is trying to get the governemnt to rebuild the boundaries so that the bridge will cross from WBC to RBC without entering Oxon!
stevieb said:
Scamper said:
Olf said:
Good news.
Why are road planners such retards though?
Location: A33 Rose Kiln Lane junction where that perfectly good round-a-bout was replaced with a junction.
With all of their combined (8) brain cells why could they not have anticipated that people on the way into Reading would use the right hand lane, right up until the traffic lights only cutting across the hatchings dangerously at the last minute. Wasn't it blindingly obvious this would happen?
What do you never see them sitting down there checking out how well their masterpiece of road engineering has turned out.
Drive this almost everyday and i can guarantee that i will see someone cutting in at the last minute because they are in the wrong lane... brilliant piece of engineering!!! there are probably 6 or 7 cars waiting to turn right on this filter lane whereas the majority of traffic is heading straight on. A crash is inevitable at this junction I am afraid.Why are road planners such retards though?
Location: A33 Rose Kiln Lane junction where that perfectly good round-a-bout was replaced with a junction.
With all of their combined (8) brain cells why could they not have anticipated that people on the way into Reading would use the right hand lane, right up until the traffic lights only cutting across the hatchings dangerously at the last minute. Wasn't it blindingly obvious this would happen?
What do you never see them sitting down there checking out how well their masterpiece of road engineering has turned out.
If drivers were not so ignorant when they are in there little motor car thinking they are invincible meybe such antics would never happen, but they never spare a thought for other road users.
The engineers have a responsibility for designing with due regard to the intended operator/user (i.e. the great unwashed) and also exercising a duty of care to the users safety. If we follow your logic, that people should know better, bridges wouldn't have guardrails and car/railway crossing wouldn't have gates! That junction is prime example of ignoring the typical human response of trying to steal a few seconds. We've all done it at some point or other, either because we're full of our own self importance or because we're driving our sick child to the hospital, whatever - it's a predictable response and engineers should have foreseen it.
I'm an engineer too so I'm not just shooting from the hip here.
Olf said:
Stevie,
The engineers have a responsibility for designing with due regard to the intended operator/user (i.e. the great unwashed) and also exercising a duty of care to the users safety.
We all may think that the buck stops with the engineer but it is down to the Road Safety Auditors to Approve the design, with a stage 1 & 2 safety Audit. And then they should pick up any problems such as been mentioned in a stage 3 safety Audit and this gives the council 3 months to redign the junction so that to engineer out the problems mentioned. The engineers have a responsibility for designing with due regard to the intended operator/user (i.e. the great unwashed) and also exercising a duty of care to the users safety.
If anyone has any particular problem with the junction i would advise them to use the Freedom of Info Act to request a copy of the Stage 1 - 3 Safety sudit reports.
Olf said:
I'm an engineer too so I'm not just shooting from the hip here.
If you dont mind me asking which industry?stevieb said:
Olf said:
Stevie,
The engineers have a responsibility for designing with due regard to the intended operator/user (i.e. the great unwashed) and also exercising a duty of care to the users safety.
We all may think that the buck stops with the engineer but it is down to the Road Safety Auditors to Approve the design, with a stage 1 & 2 safety Audit. And then they should pick up any problems such as been mentioned in a stage 3 safety Audit and this gives the council 3 months to redign the junction so that to engineer out the problems mentioned. The engineers have a responsibility for designing with due regard to the intended operator/user (i.e. the great unwashed) and also exercising a duty of care to the users safety.
If anyone has any particular problem with the junction i would advise them to use the Freedom of Info Act to request a copy of the Stage 1 - 3 Safety sudit reports.
Olf said:
I'm an engineer too so I'm not just shooting from the hip here.
If you dont mind me asking which industry?stevieb said:
I have the unfortunate job of being a Profession Highways Engineer.. But my role ranges from Long term highway schemes for the HA to Auditing Councils Work.
With the later the council offivers to not seem to give a shit about the quality of their work!
I had noticed! Seriously though it's not a dig at the engineers, it just surprises me that stuff like that gets through. What surprises me even more is that 6 months later it's still the same! I assume all the council highways people travel to work by train.With the later the council offivers to not seem to give a shit about the quality of their work!
Now... What about those high level crossing things?
stevieb said:
high level crossing??? what are they then?
Right, on the junction and some others around rdg there are normal height pedo crossing button and then also a repeater mounted another 2 feet further up the pole. Only time I have ever seen these before is on crossing regularly used by horse riders. Seems crazy to me and a waste of money.Olf said:
stevieb said:
high level crossing??? what are they then?
Right, on the junction and some others around rdg there are normal height pedo crossing button and then also a repeater mounted another 2 feet further up the pole. Only time I have ever seen these before is on crossing regularly used by horse riders. Seems crazy to me and a waste of money.These buttons enable them to hold up the traffic further without having to dismount.
Simple when you think about it
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