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News and Comment September 2014

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18 September - Road congestion. It’s all part of the plan

I have spoken to two council people this week and neither disagreed that council news has been non-existent in recent weeks. My preoccupation with other matters has ended, the reason for posting nothing is solely down to a lack of input. There have been minor developments with Mick Barnbrook’s correspondence with the police but all it suggests to me is that the investigating officer - the same one as is investigating the political interference into the Craske affair - simply hasn’t got a clue as to what has been going on.

One correspondent, who I have heard from before, is a several times daily user of the Trinity Square roundabout, ‘T’ junction, free for all or whatever, and below is a shortened version of his report on the chaos that reigned there earlier today. The hoped for improved behaviour that might come from user familiarity is yet to materialise.


As was obvious to everyone except the highly paid incompetents in Bexley Council Highways design dept. the oversized traffic island on the Welling side of the magic roundabout is a recipe for trouble and it was there in abundance this morning. Probably the design is the work of the same incompetent who widened the island at the Blendon roundabout and doubled the queue in Penhill Road.

Due to some incident on the A2 this morning a lot of Welling bound traffic opted for the Broadway instead. It caused a queue to the magic roundabout and beyond with two lines up Albion Road stretching almost back to the Townley Road roundabout.

Not all traffic was Welling bound and a fair proportion wanted to turn right into Church Road which was completely clear as was its approach lane. However traffic that wanted to turn right could not get to the clear right turn lane because of the idiotic island design which forces all traffic whether straight on or right turn into a single line to get past this stupid island.

Move the island kerb back a couple of feet and the pinch point would be eradicated, but Bexley council has no interest in relieving congestion since it is obvious from the island design that they deliberately created the problem to create maximum congestion.


Albion RoadEven after an appreciable settling down period drivers are still totally bemused by the magic roundabout. Some treat it as a roundabout - others a Tee junction - others just hope for the best and brazenly force their way across. The council have recently put up little blue signs on the approaches saying 'shared space' whatever good they think these will do. Why not just designate it as a roundabout so everyone would know how to treat it - or is that too sensible for Bexley council?

The nearby roundabout at the Oaklands Road car park entrance is too small and I have yet to see any vehicle actually follow the lane markings. Particularly when travelling from Broadway towards Townley Road most vehicles go straight across both circular lane markings. Cannot Bexley council highway designers ever get anything right?

 

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