Gresford Rounabout problems
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A few years ago I was talking to somebody who works in the road safety department. I mentioned that some of the newer road layouts seemed to be badly designed and caused congestion on the main routes into town. They explained that it was a deliberate policy taken by the council. The Council did not want to be seen to encourage more traffic and the theory was that if people were inconvenienced driving around town they would consider using public transport!!!
I kid you not, the above was a genuine conversation.
I remember when Tony Blair was first Prime Minister, it was on the TV news about it. Something about delaying the timing on traffic lights. It was also said that they would get people out of cars & on their feet or words to that effect. I am glad that someone else remembers apart from that it came from the top & not from the council.
@WelshAlien 7589 wrote:
I have been thinking when waiting at the roundabout that a filter to head into Wrexham would clear the traffic faster. I don’t know why this wasn’t included when they put the lights up, obviously they have never seen how busy it gets.
I think the main reason they dont do this is. you do get a lot of people going in the lanes towards town center then cutting accross to go up the A483 southbound…if they put an island so motorists cant cut accross then i think it might just work….
Metalhead;7593 wrote:These issues are precisely the type of things I believe we should be discussing on the proposed councillor’s forum. Most of the issues mentioned so far could be improved fairly easily in my view, the thing is that any improvements will cost money and WCBC haven’t got any right now :(They have the money, but the public don’t decide what it should be spent on.
@thewayneinspain 7658 wrote:
They have the money, but the public don’t decide what it should be spent on.
If only there was a forum where concerned residents could make such suggestions to councillors…
Metalhead;7660 wrote:If only there was a forum where concerned residents could make such suggestions to councillors…The
Change Wrexham For Our Future FB forum have an audience with the exec committee on wednesday. There is scope for pressure to be applied on the council.
@graham 7655 wrote:
I think the main reason they dont do this is. you do get a lot of people going in the lanes towards town center then cutting accross to go up the A483 southbound…if they put an island so motorists cant cut accross then i think it might just work….
Again that is because of the layout- it could be made easier. For example if you come off from Wrexham trying to go for Gresford you have to get in the right lane of three. The middle lane goes to the small industrial estate yet drivers seem to use as race track to get along the link road. I’ve even seen cars using the left lane. Better marking and signage would improve it, rather than leaving it to a free for all.
@zinger 7646 wrote:
I remember when Tony Blair was first Prime Minister, it was on the TV news about it. Something about delaying the timing on traffic lights. It was also said that they would get people out of cars & on their feet or words to that effect. I am glad that someone else remembers apart from that it came from the top & not from the council.
Yes, you are correct. At the time it was a government initiative. Traffic light delays were just one of the ideas. However it was not compulsory, Councils could do as they wished. The Wrexham Council (at the time) decided to follow the “plan”.
As an example of one of these schemes in Wrexham. Several main routes into town including Park Avenue, Grosvenor Road etc. were diverted and made virtually unusable for through traffic. This forced more cars onto other roads e.g. Chester Rd. Holt Rd. obviously increasing congestion on those roads. The idea was that people would get fed up getting stuck in traffic and would walk, cycle or use public transport instead. At the same time cycle paths were created on Holt Rd and Chester Rd.
Now the whole plan could have been a good idea, but it was ill thought out and planned. Unfortunately most of these cycle paths just run along the existing road, and the road lane ends up being narrower. Many cyclist do not feel safe using the lanes. Public transport is pretty poor for many people who need to get to work in the mornings. All that has been achieved is increased congestion on certain roads in Wrexham.
The whole issue was explained to me in quite some depth about 10 years ago.
There are other badly planned traffic schemes in and around town, (which are designed to move traffic in certain directions for reasons other than the convenience of motorists!) But I will leave it there for now.
Mike Davies;7669 wrote:Yes, you are correct. At the time it was a government initiative. Traffic light delays were just one of the ideas. However it was not compulsory, Councils could do as they wished. The Wrexham Council (at the time) decided to follow the “plan”.As an example of one of these schemes in Wrexham. Several main routes into town including Park Avenue, Grosvenor Road etc. were diverted and made virtually unusable for through traffic. This forced more cars onto other roads e.g. Chester Rd. Holt Rd. obviously increasing congestion on those roads. The idea was that people would get fed up getting stuck in traffic and would walk, cycle or use public transport instead. At the same time cycle paths were created on Holt Rd and Chester Rd.
Now the whole plan could have been a good idea, but it was ill thought out and planned. Unfortunately most of these cycle paths just run along the existing road, and the road lane ends up being narrower. Many cyclist do not feel safe using the lanes. Public transport is pretty poor for many people who need to get to work in the mornings. All that has been achieved is increased congestion on certain roads in Wrexham.
The whole issue was explained to me in quite some depth about 10 years ago.
There are other badly planned traffic schemes in and around town, (which are designed to move traffic in certain directions for reasons other than the convenience of motorists!) But I will leave it there for now.
It’s quite obvious that no one who took part in the cycle lane decision (which was made without asking the electorate) has ridden a bicycle in the last 40 years. The lanes are way way too narrow, ill thought out and never policed… e.g. there are always two or three cars parked on the lanes on holt road.
I’ve been saying on a wrexham fc forum for almost a decade, the public transport system is a joke in wrexham and does not exist after 6pm. It’s easier to travel to chester than into wrexham’s town centre..
The above leaves justs taxis or using a car.
Congestion costs companies money, making a decision like this is irresponsible for the local economy.
Democracy is defined as: ‘for the people by the people’, ie we as electors, elect Councillors to act on our behalf, it must be a reasonable assumption that they act in the best interests of us all, as they see it.
It is a nonsense to even suggest that the electorate should be consulted directly (in the form of a referendum, I assume) on every decision that is made on our behalf, by elected representatives.
As for blatantly pointing a finger at individual Councillors for decisions made,it is entirely wrong as they all share a collective responsibility.
In addition, just remember that the decisions made are based on recommendations of Officers of the Council, who, like it or not, are more skilled and qualified in their respective fields, than either you or I.
Rather than griping to all and sundry through this particular medium, it is more appropriate to bring such matters to the attention of the Councillor that represents you.
That is the way to achieve change rather than metaphorically talking it over in the pub or over the garden fence.
Stand up and be counted if your beliefs are so strong. Councillors don’t bite!
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