Mark Lawton.Com

• A campaign for traffic lights, traffic calming measures, and/or an enhanced visibility zebra crossing at the location. Increased lighting is also required for road safety, especially on the zebra crossing.

• Noticing the fact that the local bus is actually stopping virtually right on a zebra crossing at the bus-stop where you would normally expect to see zig-zags for many yards, which reduces visibility, and road safety for everyone in the area!
  

• What is more – this is actually legal and allowed on this road!

Now you know what they’ll say (hypothetically speaking),”There hasn’t been any fatalities yet at this junction, so we are doing nothing about it until “2.3 people have been killed” in 2010, and over the last five years! ”

The question is… Do you want to wait for people to die to satisfy the authorities’ “money saving statistics”.

What is more important?

Saving money at the expense of people’s lives…

Or to “do the right thing”, and MAKE IT SAFER, especially for children right here, right now!

Near me there is a junction in what you would think is a quiet area. This is the traffic crossing, and give way area consisting of the Walstead Road, and Delves Green Road junction in Walsall, West Midlands UK.

I have already received a comment about this problem, and this comment certainly comes from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Please by all means forward this URL, or obtain a print-out for your M.P. or whoever you see fit to help to do something about this problem.

I have forwarded this blog URL to http://www.fixmystreet.com/, so I await a result from this, as well as whoever finds this blog on the Internet.

I sincerely hope this blog causes a stir in the right direction, and contributes to something being done about the road safety in this area!

My point may be hard to get over without substantial accident evidence and photography; but surely it should be obvious that this is an “accident black-spot” and it has the potential for many more accidents unless something is done.

Why do I say this?

Well.. although I can’t keep an exact count; I have noticed that especially on the evening or at night, or even during the evening rush hour, that there have been an number of RTA’s (road traffic accidents) at this junction; some involving property nearby, and also writing off or severely damaging the vehicles involved.

I don’t actually have any RTA pictures on here, (accident debris is shown though), but I can show that the approach to this junction is far too open to high speed traffic, and that there is some “dead ground” upon the approach from Maple Drive to Delves Green Road.

Of course approaching vehicle speed is a major factor, but other factors described below come into play.

Notice the difference in stopping distance from 20 to 40MPH? What difference would a 10-20MPH reduction in speed make?

Quite a difference I think!

There is also a zebra crossing on the other side of junction from this approach.

Problems I have noticed when using this junction…

When emerging from Delves Green Road either to go straight on, left or right the following problems appear…

• Traffic coming from the Maple Drive direction is not aware of the Delves Green Road junction, and approaches at high speed; often exceeding the 30MPH legal maximum speed limit upon the approach to this junction.
• There is “dead ground” (where visibility is blocked) upon the approach of the junction from Maple Drive to Delves Green Road, in that vehicles emerging from Delves Green Road cannot see approaching traffic due to the dip in the road just past “The Tiger” pub; and also vehicles approaching this junction also cannot see vehicles emerging from Delves Green Road.
• The problem is also exacerbated by traffic emerging from Delves Green Road having its view obscured by the bus stop and parked cars when emerging from the Bell Lane part, or the view obscured by cars parked to the right in Walstead Road when emerging from Delves Green Road from the Broadway end. The traffic is also approaching from the West Bromwich Road end, across the traffic lights near the Joseph Leckie School.
• The cars that are parked are often using the letter box, newsagent, and florist shop located at this junction, and these block visibility also from the West Bromwich Road end.
• When buses are in the bus stop the crossing and oncoming traffic is not visible, and I notice the extra danger as traffic “takes the plunge”, and noses out of the junction, playing “Russian Roulette” with the unseen oncoming traffic, which is often travelling well over the legal speed limit.
• When approaching from Bell Lane and the school. it is hard to see what is coming due to trees and the slight curvature of the road, as well as the bus stop, and stationary buses waiting there sometimes as above mentioned.
• Children are around at key periods, because there is a busy school nearby, and they are unaware of the dangers at this junction, and therefore traffic lights seem the best solution, (with pedestrian sequence and crossing as well would be a good idea).

So as you can see the problem is from both directions when emerging from Delves Green Road in either direction. It is a dangerous junction.

It is either “dead ground” causing bad visibility, and excessive speed from the Tiger direction, and bad visibility due to parked shoppers, the bus stop and probably excessive speed from the traffic approaching that way as well.

Walstead road is a 30MPH road, but due to it being nearly straight, and quite wide; many cars go well over the 30MPH speed limit; sometimes reaching speeds of 50MPH and above. (This has been observed by me seeing cars overtaking me like I am travelling backwards sometimes, when I am actually doing an indicated 33MPH on my speedometer, which is about 28 to 30MPH  in reality in my car according to my GPS!)

The effect of the low visibility, obstruction of view also exacerbated by the tall, and wide trees, and the slight curvature in Walstead road, besides the excessive speed of the traffic in Walstead road affects the safety of traffic emerging from Delves Green Road in both directions.

I would like to suggest the following…

• Speed bumps in Walstead road upon approach to the junction, which is also near a school in Delves Green Road as a minimum measure if funding is a problem, but it would be good as well as the traffic lights.
• Traffic lights at the junction to control the traffic in both directions would seem the best option.
• Extra advanced notice traffic signs upon approach the the Delves Green Road junction to slow traffic on the Walstead Road approach to the Delves Green Road junction as well besides the traffic lights.
• Measures in place to increase the lighting on the zebra crossing near the Delves Green Road junction, and extra advance road signs to indicate a zebra crossing nearby.
• Making the zebra crossing more noticeable and bold if it is to remain instead of traffic lights with a pedestrian phase, or a Puffin crossing installed.
• Moving the crossing and the bus stop to a safe place
• Extend the zig-zag lines so that people won’t keep parking too close to the crossing and the junction. Cars insist on parking on the zig-zags where you shouldn’t park, because people are too idle to walk an extra ten paces and park legally! This blocks your view seriously! I know as I have had a few close shaves here!
• Possibly turning the zebra crossing into a pedestrian controlled crossing which is combined into the suggested traffic lights at this junction.
• Even a traffic island may be better if all else fails, and to move the crossing and the bus stop out of the way.

I enclose the pictures and comments below for your perusal…

So what is the answer…

This…

How about a roundabout, or traffic island like in Maple Drive…

Or is this the answer shown lower below?… This is what I would like to see best of all shown below, especially when children are involved, and peoples lives are in the balance due to excessive speed being a factor.

It will only be a matter of time before something serious happens at this junction!

Yes a pedestrian controlled traffic light junction…

This does seem the safest bet…

But only if also augmented by advance traffic signs, because the “dead ground” is still a problem.

The bus stop also needs to be moved a few yards away, and yellow or “red route” lines need to be placed to strictly stop parking near the junction.

The question is… are they going to “lock the stable door after the horse has bolted?”

What is the most important thing? Public money, or peoples lives, and safety?

What about the children in the area who have the rest of their lives in front of them, and we want them to keep their lives intact?

Obviously you don’t want to hit them at all! But the point they make here is that if a child steps out in front of you unexpectedly when you are doing 30MPH or less; then you have a far better chance of doing something about it; and you can “stop on a sixpence”, at 30MPH, but not so much at 40MPH Plus!

What if you were a parent and you lost your child in an accident there? How would you feel?

Could you live with the guilt if you allowed someone to be killed at this junction because of some long-overdue measures that have been passed over and not put into place?

There are some pictures below from the Walstead Road and Delves Green junction approaches; these should help to show how the junction appears, and the potential for it to cause accidents.

Notice the “dead ground” upon the approach to the junction, especially from the Tiger pub end.

The visibility problem is exacerbated by the following points in my opinion…

• The speed of approaching vehicles on Walstead Road
• The dead ground caused by the hidden dip to the approach to the Delves Green Road junction from the Tiger pub end
• Parked cars on or near the zebra crossing obstructing the view. I have had near misses not being able to see and having to nose out into the middle of Walstead road from Delves Green Road from both directions.
• Cars insist on parking on the zig-zags where you shouldn’t park, because people are too idle to walk an extra ten paces and park legally!
• The very large trees obstructing visibility a little
• The gradual curvature of Walstead Road does not help with visibility
• Walstead road is a very wide and fast road, and the excessive speed of vehicles on it reduce reaction times at the Delves Green Road junction to avoid oncoming vehicles at high speed
• The zebra crossing isn’t very clearly defined, and is unsafe to use sometimes due to excessive traffic speed on Walstead Road
• Poor lighting is a problem, and also on the zebra crossing
• Road markings are unclear and poor
• The junction is badly signposted, and overgrowth, or impending overgrowth reduces the importance of the approaching traffic warning signs
• People ignore the traffic rules and drive very fast along this inviting stretch of road!

I do however foresee one extra problem with the traffic light idea option…

Would traffic approaching from the Broadway “rat run” along Delves Crescent to avoid the lights in both directions?

Ahhh! I didn’t think about this one earlier!

Possible solutions for this could be to make it one way, block off one end to make it no through road, (I have seen this setup before), or install speed humps to put people off from driving down there. A road sign for “Access Only” could be another way too.

Another final idea that comes to mind is to make the signals “part time”, but this is “off the wall” from me; and would possibly be unique for a traffic light junction other than entry sliproads on the motorways, where I have seen it done before.

Further problems would be objections from residents about this of course.

So what do we do then? We’ll have to see if it can be made popular to the majority and find a workable solution.

I don’t mean to turn negative about this; but the “experts” will raise the issues, and maybe ones I haven’t thought about.

However I still do think a workable solution can be found!

Thanks for reading this, and any comments would be welcome.

Here are the pictures of the junction and its approaches and suggestion pictures to the problem…

Mark Lawton

http://mark-lawton.com

Webmasters Earn Money Here!

BLOG SITEMAP:
Pages (5)  
   1.  About Mark Lawton.Com
   2.  The Generalist’s Repository – Mark-Lawton.Com
   3.  Basic Guide For Blogging
   4.  The Keyword Academy
   5.  Useful Resource Page – Links That May Help You
Posts (37)  
   1.  Virtumonde Removal – Vundo – Virus – Trojan – Malware (0)
   2.  Handy Speed Control – Phase Angle Control – Dimmer Switch (0)
   3.  Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries – Low self-discharge NiMH battery (0)
   4.  Chelsea Flower Show 2007 & 2009 Highlights (0)
   5.  Blind Cord & Drowning Danger Awareness For Parents & Children (0)
   6.  Cherished Personalised Number Plates (0)
   7.  Emergency Scam Alert (0)
   8.  Insulating And Lagging Your House Tips and Hints (0)
   9.  Bullying At School And In The Workplace – See It – Stop It – Report It! (2)
   10.  Comedy Funny Pictures – Some Of The Best Fail Pictures (0)
   11.  Carton Pourers – Kitchen Ideas – Less Mess – Less Hassle (0)
   12.  Finding And Replacing Faulty Capacitors – Switch-Mode Power Supply Repair Hints (3)
   13.  Don’t Spike My Drink – Date Rape Danger – GHB – Rohypnol (0)
   14.  Battery Charging And Maintenance – Desulphators/Desulfators (0)
   15.  The Generalist’s Repository (0)
   16.  Capacitor ESR Meter DIY Project (0)
   17.  VAT 20 Percent In 2011 – Practical Ways To Save Money (0)
   18.  Michael Schenker Himself Rocks! (0)
   19.  Matthew Upson & Ellie Darby (0)
   20.  Beekeeping – Royal Jelly And Basic Beekeeping (2)
   21.  Chilli Beer – A Different Beer (0)
   22.  Lawton Hall – The Realm Of Lawton (0)
   23.  FIFA World Cup 2010 – Soccer / Football (0)
   24.  Walstead Road & Delves Green Road Walsall Is A Dangerous Junction (5)
   25.  Cherry Blossom-Ornamental Cherry Blossom-Prunus (0)
   26.  How To Set Up A Website Or Blog – And Get The Traffic! (0)
   27.  Bikes And Quads For Sale (1)
   28.  Baby Gift Bags – Ideal Gift Ideas For Babies (0)
   29.  How To Bleed Your Radiators And Improve Central Heating Efficiency (0)
   30.  One of The Worlds Largest Sinkholes (0)
   31.  Using Central Heating Thermostats Effectively (0)
   32.  Growing Magnolias Successfully – Growing Magnolias from seed (0)
   33.  Horstmann Newbridge Mechanical Time Switch (0)
   34.  Hit The Ground Running – Planning Self Employment Start-ups (0)
   35.  Fitting A DIY LPG Conversion Kit To A Vehicle (0)
   36.  Japanese Sushi All You Can Eat in Birmingham UK (0)
   37.  DIY LPG Conversion Kit Fitted To A Skoda (1)

Page 1