Prudential Bike Road Closure Fail

[Silver Smudger]

Dear Prudential Event organisers - Thank you so very fking much for completely screwing the east of London this morning - No bloody advance warning signs, diversions or leaflets, just shut the A12 and A13 completely in both directions - Manning the barriers with numpties with no fking clue about the plan, to direct traffic from their post straight into another closure - Close all but one lane of the Blackwall Tunnel as well, and don't bother with specifics on all the dot-matrix signs available on the motorways and A-roads that feed into the tunnel approach so we have no fking clue what is ahead, just the un-fking-helpful text - 'Cycle event road closures'.

Whose genius idea was it to not run several similar named events in different areas of London on the same fking weekend as well?! Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle, Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix, Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 and Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic !
Anyone who hears a rumour of something bike related can then find the wrong website really quickly and see a published route that is nowhere near their commute to work, and unwittingly sail into an utter st-fest of jams.

The last 1.7-mile section of my journey this morning was transformed into an 8-mile detour, clogged with bewildered drivers and thousands of cyclists, floundering about from one 'Road Closed' sign to the next, which took over an hour and a half - 3 hours later, the London-bound A13 is still queueing from Canning Town out past Dagenham...

I have had several staff that have abandoned their cars and travel in the last chunk of their journey into the office by Tube or DLR, so they were all late in as well, and now we can't get vans out to Central London because of the chaos in all the rat-runs around the main closures.

s!

[numtumfutunch]

Do the Prudential Ride event organisers use this forum?

Try a letter to HQ, or maybe twitter.....

[ecsrobin]

However the last few days the radio has had adverts from the organisers advising of significant closures in London due to a cycle event.

[Silver Smudger]

I don't listen to the crappy noise from radio smegging local - I do however drive on the same roads every day - Would it have killed anyone to put up a sign or two that said 'This road closed on Sunday'?

Or a few diversion arrows?

[Silver Smudger]

I did hear that there was something cycle related on this w/end, Like I said above though, got entirely the wrong Prudential cycle event web page yesterday which was showing nothing to do with this mornings fk up.

[whatleytom]

Plenty of signs out in West London. Can't see what more organisers can do besides mailing all of London. You've done well to avoid hearing anything about it.

[davepoth]

I knew it was on, and I live in Somerset.

[Dammit]

You've had three years (3) notice, that's 1,095 days. If you can't cope with that much advance warning, if it is all just TOO HARD, then I suspect driving a car is probably a bit too much for you as well.

Maybe the bus in future?

[Blaster72]

Nothing in my area, no signs - f all.

Left the house this morning at 8 to head to New Malden, normally a 20 min drive. Road closed heading to Hampton Court Bridge. Manned by a chap who knew nothing other than it was a cycle event and on all day. Suggested I take the motorway - which motorway I ask - no idea he says. No diversion signs, massive queue of confused motorists.

Anyway, turned around headed to Walton Bridge to go through Walton and onto the A3 a Cobham. Er, no - again road closed, no info as to alternate routes, numpty manning the road closure clueless. Massive queue.

Took the side back road down to Weybridge only to find, yes, you guessed it - road closed. No one around, hundreds of cyclists seen whizzing past along Weybridge high street in the distance.

Ended up on the M25 (Gridlocked), then A3 a total of 25 miles each way extra. The journey back I was prepared and settled to come A3, M25, M3 - Extra 30 miles, A3 at a standstill, M25 mega busy as usual. Wonderful.

Now, I heard all about the Ride London on the radio. No mention of both major river crossings in my part of Surrey being closed for the whole day. Looking at the maps this afternoon, the entire area from Kingston to Chertsey was cut off by this event.

All well and good, don't mind a good cycle event. Just wished they had leafleted the residents or put us some signs to warn us in advance or maybe even do what normally happens when you close a road - put up diversion signs.

Total flippin shambles, hope its not now going to happen every year.

[Blaster72]

whatleytom said:

Plenty of signs out in West London. Can't see what more organisers can do besides mailing all of London. You've done well to avoid hearing anything about it.

Sadly they didn't put an signs out in my area of Surrey before cutting off the only two river crossings in the area for the whole day. They should have had some diversion routes up rather than just closing the roads and saying tough luck.

[okgo]

swerni said:

There have been signs of closures all along the route for ages.
The same route as last year and the year before and ........

I live near the route but not on it and have had 3 bits of mail through, and of course the radio, email, twitter, facebook advertising etc. No excuse tbh.

[Magic919]

I drove in and out of London this morning and then again this afternoon with no drama. Waze seemed aware of the closures and did a good job of navigating.

[jagracer]

swerni said:

fk me, some people really do walk round with their eyes closed.
It's been on the television, radio, in the press and its an annual event.

Would you like them to phone you personally next time?

Yes please. I live in SE London and work in E london and as I understood it was all over west London and Surrey, there's been little or nothing about it being in the east and our depot is on the A12 by Blackwall.
There were plenty of signs and notifications for the tour de france, why not similar for this, it's caused the same if not more chaos as if we don't have enough already with London gridlocked daily because of feckin cycle superhighways.

[okgo]

jagracer said:

Yes please. I live in SE London and work in E london and as I understood it was all over west London and Surrey, there's been little or nothing about it being in the east and our depot is on the A12 by Blackwall.
There were plenty of signs and notifications for the tour de france, why not similar for this, it's caused the same if not more chaos as if we don't have enough already with London gridlocked daily because of feckin cycle superhighways.

Get a new job.

[DJFish]

Not just motorists, I cycle to work and it's a pain in the arse.
And guess who the motorists will choose to vent their fury....
All part of working in the smoke unfortunately.

[Schmy]

Well done on not being able to see, hear or read anything about the event. Impressive.

Princess Diana is dead btw. Sorry if that's a spoiler.

[mybrainhurts]

whatleytom said:

Plenty of signs out in West London. Can't see what more organisers can do

They could have had the decency to die suddenly before organising the event.

[SixPotBelly]

jagracer said:

...as if we don't have enough already with London gridlocked daily because of feckin cycle superhighways.

London is gridlocked because of cars. Cars almost invariably carrying just one person. They take up, what, nine times the road space that a bike does.

More people riding bikes rather than driving is a solution to London's congestion, not the cause of it.

And I'm speaking as a diehard petrolhead, not just a cyclist.

[Black can man]

Silver Smudger said:

I have had several staff that have abandoned their cars and travel in the last chunk of their journey into the office by Tube or DLR, so they were all late in as well, and now we can't get vans out to Central London because of the chaos in all the rat-runs around the main closures.

s!

So you run a company or manage some drivers that travel into central London & you didn't know this was on ?


Jesus dude ! You suck at your job man.

[Blaster72]

swerni said:

Blaster72 said:

whatleytom said:

Plenty of signs out in West London. Can't see what more organisers can do besides mailing all of London. You've done well to avoid hearing anything about it.

Sadly they didn't put an signs out in my area of Surrey before cutting off the only two river crossings in the area for the whole day. They should have had some diversion routes up rather than just closing the roads and saying tough luck.

There have been signs of closures all along the route for ages.
The same route as last year and the year before and ........

None in Sunbury at all, strange given they closed both Hampton Court bridge and Walton Bridge at the same time.
I don't listen to local radio so would never find out that way either. As I said no issue with the event just a lack of traffic management on the day, the huge traffic queues in the local are would suggest they didn't do a great job letting people know.

I know you're into your cycling so it stands to reason you would be well informed.