Traffic light phasing

[Jon Ison]

48 hours ago someone was unfortunate to take out some of the traffic lights on the busiest roundabout in Chesterfield, (hornsbridge for anyone that knows it) all the lights have been out since and still are.

Its generally very busy, the roads that meet there are the A617 this is the main M1/Mansfield/Chesterfield link that also joins the motorway to Stockport Manchester, the A61 main Sheffield/Derby road, town center and a busy retail park.

Normally at any time of day it can be a nightmare, rush hour forget it, well for the last 48 hours its running unbelievably smooth even during morning and evening rush hours, hope it takes them a while to fix them.

[Hammy13]

They've recently put traffic lights on a roundabout near me which I don't agree with. Granted the roundabout gets quite busy at peak times but putting traffic lights on something that it designed to keep traffic flowing is ridiculous in my opinion.

[GC8]

Jon Ison said:

48 hours ago someone was unfortunate to take out some of the traffic lights on the busiest roundabout in Chesterfield, (hornsbridge for anyone that knows it) all the lights have been out since and still are.

Its generally very busy, the roads that meet there are the A617 this is the main M1/Mansfield/Chesterfield link that also joins the motorway to Stockport Manchester, the A61 main Sheffield/Derby road, town center and a busy retail park.

Normally at any time of day it can be a nightmare, rush hour forget it, well for the last 48 hours its running unbelievably smooth even during morning and evening rush hours, hope it takes them a while to fix them.

So, the lights are off at the bottom of the A617 and now everything is flowing smoothly? Has it reduced the queues approaching the roundabout on the A61?

[alangla]

I really wish the powers that be would consider part time lights for roundabouts more often - there's so many cases around the country where turning the lights off outside the peak would improve flow.

[EDLT]

The lights went off on a busy roundabout I use every day, for once I barely had to slow down to get through because there was so little traffic.

[Jon Ison]

GC8 said:

So, the lights are off at the bottom of the A617 and now everything is flowing smoothly? Has it reduced the queues approaching the roundabout on the A61?

Its reduced ques from all directions, I had to go into town yesterday around 5pm, having heard on the radio the lights where out was a bit apprehensive, I have been held up more at 2am than I was at 5pm.

[GC8]

Cool.

Zero chance of any lessons being learned, though. Id hoped that this Conservative government might introduce a compulsary traffic light use and phasing review, to correct all of the politically motivated meddling and f*ckwittery with regards to congestion, but I was naive, I think.

[Smiler.]

I do wonder at the decision making process of traffic planning types when as I approach a set of lights that change form green to red & I have to wait for:

all the non-existent vehicles to not drive thought the other set(s) of lights or the non-existent pedestrians to not cross the road/junction.

[Watchman]

Different agencies own different parts of the roads. In my experience of writing emails to both the Highways Agency and local councils, it's the Highways Agency which respond most (actually, they've responded to every single one of my emails) whereas councils, particularly my own, seem only to manage a reply once every 7 or 8 emails.

The Highways Agency seems to take my enquiries seriously. They decided to paint lane markings on a busy large roundabout near to my home which has had a massively positive effect at increasing throughput and ease of joining the roundabout. Whent he markings wore off (by the inevitable idiots who don't stick to the lanes, no doubt), I wrote asking for them to be re-painted and within a week, they were.

However, when I complained about the traffic lights on the junctions to join the M42, the Highways Agency claimed that was the responsibility of the local council. The council never replied to me. I should have taken it further but you get totally stonewalled by their layers of people through whom you're supposed to go before getting to anyone capable of providing an answer or making a decision.

[frosted]

GC8 said:

Cool.

Zero chance of any lessons being learned, though. Id hoped that this Conservative government might introduce a compulsary traffic light use and phasing review, to correct all of the politically motivated meddling and f*ckwittery with regards to congestion, but I was naive, I think.

Same people advising = same government

[monthefish]

It amazes me that traffic light control systems nowadays haven't been sufficiently developed so that they can optimise traffic flow.

I accept that they're never going to be as good as a human operator, but you'd have thought they'd have been able to get reasonably close by now.