Welsh Government enforcing 50mph A483 speed limit
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Just read Wrexham.com and other articles on the proposed temp 50mph speed restriction between B&Q and Gresford Roundabout to reduce NO2.
I can tell you the these plans are going to go down like a lead balloon. Let’s be honest no drivers are going to care about the gas reductions proposed & it will create misery during rush hour with extra congestion that will defeat any emission reductions in the narrow zone. Unless they introduce a permanent fixed speed camera, which everyone local will immediately clock onto and slow down just before and speed after, they won’t get people slowing down.
When they usually whack in the 50mph temp speed restrictions in on the A483 during roadworks people view that as optional and largely unenforceable and brings faster drivers down from 80 to 70 and regular drivers down to about 60. Anyone who actually slows down to the advertised speed of 50mph is viewed as antisocial, even by lorries.
This is just typical style nanny state nonsense from the Welsh Government. Only on 1 day did monitoring stations in Wales record high levels of NO2. Both the RAC & AA are sceptical about the effectiveness of these measures.
Quite frankly they need to stop bullying drivers, after all the spike in NO2 was due to past government recommendations and incentives that diesel vehicles were better for the environment. Now many people have reliable older diesel cars they use to get about and can’t necessarily afford to upgrade especially when these cars are in good working order and offer decent mileage etc… The scrappage scheme is a farce as it assumes you can afford even with the incentive to get or finance and pay insurance on a brand new car.
Let’s also look at the fact that closure of many coal-fuelled power stations, to be replaced by renewable energy and natural gas ones between 2012 and 2015, decreased the UK’s total NO2 emissions by 16%. Far more effective than temporary car punishments.
We all know that long term we’re all going to be pushed onto cleaner electric/hybrid vehicles and I fully support that but long-term sensible transitional goals make more sense than short term temporary back patting nonsense from the lunatic farm down at the Senedd.
Can I suggest that readers and the Council look at the info on the thread started 31st October – on this is the info re pollution levels- it appeared from the info then that Victoria Riad by the school was one of the worst places as car waiting at the Ruthin Road lights were polluting the air with engines running. Cllr Phil Wynn has still not made any statement about a school in his own Ward.
https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/English/environment/air_quality/index.htm
Just read the article and i just have to shake my head in dis-belief. How much difference is it going to make in reality i wonder. Not a lot i would guess. Travel at 70 and you are through quicker than at 50 so poluting more and engines are usually more efficient at higher RPM than lower.
Something that comes to mind reading all the flowery words about how public health and well being is paramount in their deliberations (yeah right) is that the Welsh Assembly and WCBC are proposing to build hundreds if not thousands of houses in and around our towns and villages which will bring more traffic movements and therefore polution of all kinds right to the place where we live. I live in a small village where there are plans in the LDP to develop an area for up to 40 houses the access to which is along a narrow road. What about the extra polution that the residents of that road are going to suffer? That doesn’t count though does it? The occupiers of those 40 houses will all have cars perhaps 2 or even 3 which will all be travelling every day in and out of the village causing polution, noise and traffic in a place that already suffers immensely from that. Do the WA or WCBC care? No they don’t, all the fine words are tossed to the wind when it comes to that, but yes, a lower speed limit on the bye-pass will do it, yep luvvly jubbly and bonus ball, we can have the go-safe cameras (aka. scamera vans) positioned nicely to take £1000’s in fines out of the errant motorist’s pockets; get points on their licences or even loads of them doing speed awareness courses which are a mega money spinner for the police and the company that runs them. We are truly, led by Donkeys.This may well be proven to reduce emissions, but applying it to just one stretch of road is just a drop in the ocean and we can’t possibly have this implemented on all roads.
The section in question seems an odd choice too. Ruabon to Halton roundabout and Gresford to Posthouse roundabout are generally the congested areas and slowing traffic to a steady flow there might make more sense – reduce emissions when the road is clear, ease traffic flow when the road is busy.
But on that point, I think the priority should be reducing and eliminating congestion problems where hundreds of cars are at near stand still with their engines running. That’s surely a bigger contributor to nitrogen oxide than vehicles flowing at 70mph. I got caught up in the daily gridlock in and around Ysbyty Maelor around 5:30pm yesterday and couldn’t believe it.
It’s quite possibly criminal for the Council and Labour Government in Cardiff to allow such congestion and air pollution to harm our health. And that’s the only reason Carwyn Jones’s Cardiff Bay Labour cronies have acted now – they were caught out failing to comply with regulations and taken to court, leading to them admitting a breach of the law and agreeing to take action by April 2018. And here we are.
All roads that run alongside urban developments should be limited to 50mph ,this would help reduce air plus noise pollution.I hope this is backed with average speed cameras.
Restrict the use of traffic lights on junctions to busy times would help traffic flow and help reduce air pollutants from standing vehicles.
Does not make any sense why the link road is not included in this plan for Wrexham.[quote quote=148172]
Restrict the use of traffic lights on junctions to busy times would help traffic flow and help reduce air pollutants from standing vehicles.
[/quote]I very much think that the use of traffic lights around Wrexham is actually an important safety consideration judging on the Mad Max style approaches people have to various junctions/roundabouts in town when the lights are down.
The Welsh Assembly is really unfit for purpose. B and Q Roundabout to Ruthin road would make more sense as when you head that way the average driver is doing less than 50 getting on bypass due to the hill and inability to use the gears or accelerate onto a bypass.
The 50mph speed limit where is is suggests that the houses planned for Stansty will get the go ahead, as the 50mph limit will reduce the speed/noise pollution. Hopefully the savings can be used to fix the Posthouse roundabout as it will take an extra 5 minutes to get there, therefore reducing the traffic.
Simplest way to show frustration at the politicians is to actually turn up and vote for assembly elections!
[quote quote=148173]
Restrict the use of traffic lights on junctions to busy times would help traffic flow and help reduce air pollutants from standing vehicles.
I very much think that the use of traffic lights around Wrexham is actually an important safety consideration judging on the Mad Max style approaches people have to various junctions/roundabouts in town when the lights are down.[/quote]
I think in some cases it would be far safer,you only have to walk down to the Gresford roundabout and the number of vehicles going though on red beggars belief,if the traffic lights were off,most sensible people would be taking a more cautious approach .
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