UKC

I had a nasty scare the other day on the old Severn Crossing where the traffic exiting to chepstow was tailing back onto the carriageway. This is caused by new lanes on the sliproad. Soon there's going to be a nasty accident there and I don't want it to be me.

So how do I comment or complain about it? Is it the highways agency or a local body?

thanks

In reply to pasbury:

Start by phoning the county Highways department and ask to speak with the senior traffic engineer. Don't hold out much hope though; a major rework to a junction costs millions and they will simply weigh the cost against the cost of accidents, injury and loss of life until the former exceeds the latter.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Thanks. In this case the rework should only be repainting some lines so not too expensive.

In reply to pasbury:

If Derbyshire County Council are anything to go by it takes about half a dozen fatal accidents to get a completely meaningless warning sign put up. Repainting may take something more serious, like inconveniencing a council officer.

In reply to pasbury:

The authorities employ qualified and experienced road engineers who know enough about this stuff to make your opinion worthless and nothing more than; "another so called expert called me this morning to say the road layout was crap", sort of comment from one road expert to another.

It took a vocal and prolonged campaign in our town to change a proposed layout to something sensible.

And unfortunately, as others have said, it'll probably take a few fatal accidents too.

So start making complaints/observations, now!

In reply to pasbury:

I once wrote a lengthy email about a bad traffic light arrangement in Cardiff, with a few suggestions. I got a reasonably detailed response which I was quite happy with although they did not commit to anything. It is quite an important and busy junction so obviously you don't want to change the (mostly working) status quo without very careful consideration. Some time later (a year or a few?) they changed the light order to one of my suggestions (although it is pretty obvious so doubt I can take credit!).

If I was in charge I would take a single letter about a junction with a fairly large grain of salt, but would consider thirty letters more seriously. If you feel you have something important to say, don't be afraid to write a letter...

In reply to pasbury:

You could try an online petition?

In reply to pasbury:

Is the road layout at fault or will this imminent accident be caused by complacent drivers assuming that the road layout is the same as it has always been?

In reply to pasbury:

I'm not that familiar with the area, but you can look on here and see whether it's the Highways Agency's road.

http://assets.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/s130522_NMD_JAN%...

If not, then the County Council will usually be the people to speak to (unless it's within a unitary authority).

You could try googling the improvement (or otherwise) works, sometimes Councils like to advertise what they're doing with roads, and you might be able to get hold of some drawings, or the name of the overseeing engineer.

In terms of getting something changed though, as noted by others, one voice isn't likely to get anything done. You could start by asking to see a copy of the road safety audit for the highways works, to see if it gets a mention in there.

In reply to pasbury:

As a general rule of thumb, M-ways and trunk roads (big strategic A roads) are managed and maintained by the Highways Agency, such as in this case.

All other roads are generally the responsibility of the relevant County Council/Unitary Authority/City Council in who's area they are located.

In reply to andrewmcleod:

Which junction was that?

In reply to Welsh Kate:
'Death Junction' between City Road, Crwys Road, Richmond Road, Albany Road and Mackintosh Place (it has been rejigged a bit again since then, although that hasn't affected the light timings I think). The problem was that because Mackintosh Place is set a long way back, you can end up with multiple cars waiting to turn right and over the line. Once the City Road/Mackintosh Place lights turn red, the lights then immediately turned green for the Albany Road/Richmond Road and drivers (incorrectly) assumed the junction would be free. What they did was make Crwys Road, rather than Albany Road/Richmond Road, the next lights stage - since Crwys Road is also quite set back it gives the cars turning right from Mackintosh Place a chance to do so once their lights turn red.

In reply to andrewmcleod:

Death Junction - rightly named! I crossed that on foot every day when I first moved to Cardiff, it was perfect for catching out pissed students. I rarely go that way now but it sounds like a considerable improvement.

In reply to timjones:

The problem is that a two lane sliproad has had lane designation changed so 95% of the traffic has to use one lane. This means at busy times it tails all the way back onto the motorway. The danger is of someone bowling along and not being aware of the stationary queue - often no brakelights even showing. I was nearly rear ended myself last week.