What is it with all these traffic lights?

Yup.
The bus gate, 'Elgar's Folly', as it has become known, after Cllr Sir Elgar Jenkins, who, despite the dignified-sounding name, is a complete [insert as appropriate]. He once tried the "Do you know who I am?" routine when I refused to serve him in my pub.*
The one way systems are fairly blameless- if the roads were two way it would be much worse!


*There was a valid reason, which I will not go into here, to avoid any potential Google-induced legal problems...
(Yes, I did know who he was. No, he still didn't get a drink.)
 
miniyazz said:
Maybe I've just started driving in cities more, but there seem to be more and more ridiculous traffic lights that do a terrible job of managing traffic outside of peak hours (possibly terrible in peak hours as well, but I'm fortunate enough to avoid them..), particularly late evenings/nighttime.

It just seems like I'm constantly setting off, stopping 20s later while one car or even no-one is there to go through the other way, then restarting 30-60s later and repeating ad nauseum. Really starting to get on my nerves!

/rant
Click to expand...

It's called a Red Wave and was the brainchild of the former Labour government, they told their councils - "Create enough congestion and we will create the legislation to allow you to charge the victims of it" - thankfully it only got as far as central London. I'll dig out the documentation about it.
 
dougal1331 said:
The bus gate, 'Elgar's Folly', as it has become known, after Cllr Sir Elgar Jenkins, who, despite the dignified-sounding name, is a complete [insert as appropriate].
Click to expand...

Actually… is that right? I might have got it wrong, however I seem to remember him not for being the one that brought in the bus gate, but for being the one that changed it to open for traffic before 10AM and after 6PM?
 
dougal1331 said:
No sir, but spent most of my college years there.
Up the other end of town now, at the Star...:)
Click to expand...

Awesome - do you know anyone from Northgate rapper? :p

dougal1331 said:
That surprises me. Must've been some issue somewhere. The traffic is bad, but that part of town ain't the worst usually...
Click to expand...

Dunno, if Milsom Street is bad (usually is) or London Road (always is :p), then it usually backs up along Paragon etc. all the way to Queen's Square, so if he came that way to go up Gay Street ("go up Gay Street..." lol) he probably would have hit it :p
 
Last edited:
Pfft. Took me from 16:30 to 18:45 to eventually travel about 25miles on the M25 the other day. Just pure traffic volume and nothing else.

Our country had some of the greatest financial clout and status, yet we are backwards in so many infrastructure areas:

- Roads
- Cellular networks
- Broadband internet
- Smallest and most expensive housing
(avoiding topical ones such as environmental...)
 
Haggisman said:
Awesome - do you know anyone from Northgate rapper? :p



Dunno, if Milsom Street is bad (usually is) or London Road (always is :p), then it usually backs up along Paragon etc. all the way to Queen's Square, so if he came that way to go up Gay Street ("go up Gay Street..." lol) he probably would have hit it :p
Click to expand...

Fair point. Park Lane is best but I guess if you don't know Bath, you wouldn't know that!
Yes, I do know the Rapper guys, they've danced here loads. It always amazes me how we've not yet had to call an ambulance...

EDIT Are you one of them?!
 
dougal1331 said:
Fair point. Park Lane is best but I guess if you don't know Bath, you wouldn't know that!
Yes, I do know the Rapper guys, they've danced here loads. It always amazes me how we've not yet had to call an ambulance...

EDIT Are you one of them?!
Click to expand...

Used to be :p I'm the elder brother of the twins :p And yes, that room is... "interesting" to dance in... particularly when the fire is lit!! :p
 
miniyazz said:
Yeah could be..

much as I'm sure local residents enjoy speed bumps a) destroying their suspensions every day and b) instead of drivers passing at normal speed and revs they instead have to be constantly braking and accelerating, much quieter obviously and of course better for the environment.
Click to expand...

We have those as well, Hastings must be the sleeping policeman capital of the world....
 
Just drove though Bath a few minutes ago (dropped someone at the station and went to get some bits in Homebase).
Arrived at one set of traffic lights as first car at red light. Wait for green and then 100m later it's another set of lights which have just changed to red. Wait for green and then 50m later it's another set of lights which have just changed to red.

Argh. All this stop starting is bad for traffic flow, causes more noise, causes more fuel usage, and causes more emissions.

WHY ARE THE COUNCIL SO RETARTED!!
 
Conscript said:
Whilst were moaning about traffic lights...what is it with these ridiculously bright green traffic lights? Theres a pedestrian crossing near me that has them and is in an area with no street lights, and as you are drivivng toward it you cant see anything becuase the green light is glaringly bright.
Click to expand...

I agree, I find the LED traffic lights too bright at dusk or after dark, and the LED 'belisha' beacons are as bad or worse. They are cowled so they do not light the pavement at the crossing unlike the older globe type. It would be too easy to not see a pedestrian standing under the light and waiting to cross.

MADNESS.
 
dougal1331 said:
Particularly as the floor is on the skew in there too... Can only add to the difficulty factor!

Say hi next time you're in, it's Jon here!
Click to expand...

I never noticed before. Most likely because we always used to finish up at the Star and by that point too many pints had been drunk for it to make much difference :D

Will do, although it might be a while as I've moved to Birmingham now =(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom