Snazy

ok I will be a little more specific.
A road local to me has a large build going on on it, a new development. Due to this, it is necessary to close part of/all of the road over periods of time.

Now the plan was to close one direction, leaving the other open for a few weeks, before finally closing both directions for a short a time as possible.

The closure went into effect on Monday, however, a large number of motorists are ignoring the road closed signs and the no entry signs, and forcing their way down the road against the oncoming traffic. Forcing them to mount the pavement.
Only approx 50 metres of road is closed off, but is this enough to justify ignoring signs and forcing other drivers off the road so you can pass?

Having spoken to the guy in charge of it all, he tells me that on Monday night when he visited the site and tried to inform people the road was shut, he was threatened, spat at and constantly shouted and gestured at. How wrong is that!

Needless to say, any additional changes, signage etc all costs money, and its not privately funded now is it.
Well done muppet motorists!

PeteBrant

I think traffic restriction as a result of private builds should entail a person personally giving you cash if you are stuck in the resultant traffic.

You are basically queueing in order to line someones pocket.
You can be sure the local council have got a nic elittle back hander
You can be sure that the developer is going to earn a nice fad wad of cash once the work is complete

And who sits in an additional 30 mins of traffic every day? You.

It;s different if it is road repairs, or gas maintenance or other public utility. But if people think I am going to play ball just so they can build a housing development to sell for a massive profit they can **** right off.

Snazy

Not quite answering the root question but a point made.
However I dont think you could fairly work out "compensation" for such a thing.

However with those thoughts in mind... answer this one.
If people ignore the signs, and actually cause the traffic hold ups themselves, rather than the actual diversion route causing traffic.... who should compensate the delayed motorists ?

Just for the record, the diversion has caused no traffic hold ups, in fact its probably causing the road to move more smoothly. Genuinly. The only delays are caused by 2 way traffic meeting head to head on a one way road.

PeteBrant

Of course.

Slightly sore subject due to the fact that my journey has be enlongated by 30 mins each way for the last 10 weeks due to some **** getting rich from my and everybody elses time.

Snazy

I cant totally sympathise with that feeling mate. Given the large number of developments that have gone up along my route to work, and of course the incidents causing road closures, from accidents to crane works.

However I have to say, I would support the police clamping down on these ignorant people. People who choose to ignore closed signs are both stupid, and threaten the safety of other road users.

d5hof

It doesn't happen in North London, you see us in this side of the river are much more polite and law abiding lol

Sounds pretty annoying maybe the guy in charge should get the police to provide community support officers on the beat in the area for few days.

Shof

Snazy

lol @ does not happen in North London, I have journied across the river a few times, and I have to say some of the driving over there, including being chased down by a nutter in a pug, did not impress me much at all.

Yeah the suggestion has been made that maybe the police can attend from time to time.

fatherpierre

Who's going to pay for the police to be there?

It's not an accident that the road is messed up so down to the local council to sort out unless life is at risk.

Snazy

No idea, my suggestion of their presence is based on their comments of it being a possibility.

With regards to a life being at risk, honestly I would say with the record of the road, and the implications of giving way suddenly and at speed, there is a good chance of serious harm at the least.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Cant some obstructions be placed alongside the pavement they are driving down.

fatherpierre

Any cost to make it safe is the responsibility of the council that allow the road to be closed - so should have been factored in when they planned the build.

If police get involved expect the whole road to be closed until someone sorts it, as they won't post a resource when they're stretched as they are just to make traffic behave!

Snazy

Totally understand that mate, and can understand why too.
I think the planning that was done was to a reasonable standard, and having spoken to the guy who planned it, im confident that most angles were covered.
I guess no one would imagine that drivers would just blatently ignore road signs.

As for the suggestion of obstructions along the pavement. He is sorting this out now, but sadly this restricts the width of the pavement to an almost unusable size. Given that it carries a high volume of commuters travelling to the station, it will be a nightmare.

He is considering total closure over night.

fatherpierre

Is it a main through road?

jods

I suppose they "Could" be related to Alexandra off Big Brother ??

Snazy

Having not watched BB for many years, I would not know lol....

FP, main road, no. Main route, yes. Its Perry Vale just off the South Circ. Traffic leaves the South Circ before heading to smaller roads to get home.

Snazy

Just received this email from Mick, the guy running the show there....

Luan Pra bang

I did once have a road closure on the road close to my house that made a 5 minute journey home in to 15-20 minutes. One phone call to the council asking for copies of imact assements for the closure and asking why a private development could shut the road with no notice and the builder found a way to continue with the road open the next day.

CrisPDuk

Similar thing is happening near where my Mum lives, only their building a new access for the local college.

In this instance though, the police rocked up one rush hour evening with a camera van and a big book of tickets for Driving Without Due Care, or if they got a bit mouthy, Dangerous Driving. And the crafty beggars parked the van behind the roadworks, where the idiots couldn't see it until after they'd barged their way through

Snazy

This particular diversion changes a 1 minute route to a 90 second route, involving using one alternative road, reaching the same point a few seconds later. So little impact. Traffic has actually improved due to it.

Would love to see that happen here too, just to teach some of these idiots a lesson, but now they are closing the road, its unlikely.

Snazy

Here ya go, a little map of the said diversion.
Green dot is start, red is finish.
Red line is original route used, which is now closed off, blue line is the alternative route.

Leslie

There was a time when firms were not allowed to close a road if they had work to do there. They had to arrange the work so that there was still a passage past the roadworks in each direction using some form of control if necessary.

Seems they can close a road at the drop of a hat now, and sod the motorist and the rest of the public!

Les

Jerome

Any roadworks or road closure should mean the construction continues 24hrs a day, 7 days a week until the disruption finishes.

Far too many times have I sat in 40/50mph roadworks (and the resulting traffic jams) "to protect the workforce" when they are not actually frickin there!

Snazy

Les I think given the size of the road, and the minimal disruption the diversion should cause, the closure is justified, especially in the interest of safety.

Sadly the following update has just been posted on the local authority website. Im glad of the wording too, pointing out its motorists causing the total closure.

Updated 12 June 2008
Due to motorists ignoring the southbound closure of Perry Vale between Hindsley's Place and Finches Ski Shop, the Council, after discussions with the police, have taken the decision to bring forward the full closure of the carriageway. This decision has been made on the basis of pedestrian safety.

On the morning of Monday 16 June 2008 the northbound lane will also be closed. This will stay in operation until highway works are complete. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.