Updated plans for roundabouts on Great Western Way, Swindon to be revealed (From This Is Wiltshire)

What a pity they couldn't add Stratton X Roads to the list - that's a bottleneck if ever there was one.

£10.7 million ? bridges are already there how can it cost that much, and as for transfer bridges it looks like an accident waiting to happen

And the traffic lights won't fix the problem at Bruce St - the problem to me seems to be traffic backing up from Cheney Manor and queuing back to B&Q. If they're going to do this, they really need to consider box junctions. Whether they are enforceable is another matter!

More Council ballsups like the one in Fleming Way to be expected . Such fun !

I'm just grateful I don't commute through those areas! I imagine they're bad enough as it is without continuous roadworks for a year or so.

If they remove those nine gherkin slices from the hamburger junction, it might just work!

In all seriousness, why? What does it achieve? What was so hard about going round the roundabout?

This will only work if the people of Swindon learn how to use roundabouts! It seems no one can indicate correctly and people get confused, surely this can only make things worse???

The congestion problem is caused by the insistence on putting traffic lights at every roundabout entrance/exit.

This makes the roads far more dangerous for both pedestrians and motorists, who are thus expected to look both right and left at the SAME time before safely navigating the junction. Naturally, drivers are more concerned about looking to the right (where they're most likely to get hit from) and, as it's not possible to look in two opposing directions at the same time, they tend to be less likely to see other cars stopping in front of them or pedestrians crossing the road.

If road safety is truly the aim, replace the light-controlled crossings with foot bridges. The cost is roughly the same, it's much safer for pedestrians and reduces congestion significantly.

The congestion problem is caused by the insistence on putting traffic lights at every roundabout entrance/exit.

This makes the roads far more dangerous for both pedestrians and motorists, who are thus expected to look both right and left at the SAME time before safely navigating the junction. Naturally, drivers are more concerned about looking to the right (where they're most likely to get hit from) and, as it's not possible to look in two opposing directions at the same time, they tend to be less likely to see other cars stopping in front of them or pedestrians crossing the road.

If road safety is truly the aim, replace the light-controlled crossings with foot bridges. The cost is roughly the same, it's much safer for pedestrians and reduces congestion significantly.

moaning says...
12:49pm Wed 28 Nov 12

This will only work if the people of Swindon learn how to use roundabouts! It seems no one can indicate correctly and people get confused, surely this can only make things worse???""""

I have to agree with this post, I have never driven anywhere where so few people indicate at roundabouts and junctions. My dailiy commute is about 6 roundabouts and 6 junctions each way and I have lost count of the number of times I have made the journey with the car in front not indicating once!

Tha main problem at Bruce St is the pedestrian crossings. If you have a system whereby upward of 100 cars can be stationary to let just one pedestrian cross the road, you will get the endless queues we see there every rush hour. To keep traffic moving in a town you need to keep the cars and pedestrians as far apart as possible and have subways and walkways rather than endless traffic lights. And why are there 2 sets of lights about 50 yards apart between the Spring Gardens junction and the Magic Roundabout, sheer madness.

The trouble with footbridges is that they use up a lot of pavement width and have to be very long to cater for people who can't negotiate a steep staircase.

HeavyRain wrote:
The trouble with footbridges is that they use up a lot of pavement width and have to be very long to cater for people who can't negotiate a steep staircase.

Very true, which is why they're ideal for deploying on large roundabout entrances/exits - as there's always loads of unused space around them.

In Bristol they tend to use spiral ramps, that helps avoid the very long inclines you refer to.

The reality, of course, is that traffic lights are used because they slow traffic to a crawl and increase congestion. This is what passes, in the minds of highways planning personnel, as making roads 'safer' by making them so dangerous they think drivers will be forced to slow down.

house on the hill wrote:
moaning says...
12:49pm Wed 28 Nov 12

This will only work if the people of Swindon learn how to use roundabouts! It seems no one can indicate correctly and people get confused, surely this can only make things worse???""""

I have to agree with this post, I have never driven anywhere where so few people indicate at roundabouts and junctions. My dailiy commute is about 6 roundabouts and 6 junctions each way and I have lost count of the number of times I have made the journey with the car in front not indicating once!

Tha main problem at Bruce St is the pedestrian crossings. If you have a system whereby upward of 100 cars can be stationary to let just one pedestrian cross the road, you will get the endless queues we see there every rush hour. To keep traffic moving in a town you need to keep the cars and pedestrians as far apart as possible and have subways and walkways rather than endless traffic lights. And why are there 2 sets of lights about 50 yards apart between the Spring Gardens junction and the Magic Roundabout, sheer madness.

In general the people of Swindon don't indicate at roundabouts, and haven't for decades, after driving around the town for a while you learn to anticipate where they are going by their speed, although you still have to be cautious.

I disagree with you about the pedestrian crossings causing the jams. The jams are caused by gridlocked traffic around the four roundabouts, there are some pedestrians that don't bother with the crossing lights as the cars are already stationary!

The problem is that Swindon's entire traffic management system is antiquated and ill-prepared for the 21st century traffic demands, such as has been bought on by the rampant expansion of the town so encouraged by SBC, and has been so for decades.

The first major improvement might be found by implementing an integrated traffic management system with intelligent traffic lights at all junctions that work in a co-ordinated manner to ease traffic flow.

Take, for example, Thamesdown Drive. Here we have a wide, fast feeling dual carriageway, which, when new and before the traffic lights were installed, was great to drive down.

The speed limit for this road is restricted to 40 mph. However, motorists usually average far less thanks to congestion caused by no less than 13 sets of traffic lights along it's 3 mile length from Cricklade Road down to where it finally plunges into Purton Road.

To add insult to injury for the motorist, most of the lights appear to be of the clockwork variety, and will continue to stop traffic on the major road at 2 o'clock in the morning for no reason at all, even though the minor side roads are deserted.

Indeed, there is a distinct feeling of being ‘in-phase’ or ‘out-of-phase’ with the lights when travelling on this road, as, even in the wee small hours when all is quiet, I will often catch all the lights on green in one direction, and then have every single go against me as I roll up on the return leg, or vice versa, for no apparent reason.

too many cars on too many junctions equals jams, the answer is to have a tidal flow traffic management and investigate whether the traffic needs to be there in the first place.

Osiris wrote:
The problem is that Swindon's entire traffic management system is antiquated and ill-prepared for the 21st century traffic demands, such as has been bought on by the rampant expansion of the town so encouraged by SBC, and has been so for decades.

The first major improvement might be found by implementing an integrated traffic management system with intelligent traffic lights at all junctions that work in a co-ordinated manner to ease traffic flow.

Take, for example, Thamesdown Drive. Here we have a wide, fast feeling dual carriageway, which, when new and before the traffic lights were installed, was great to drive down.

The speed limit for this road is restricted to 40 mph. However, motorists usually average far less thanks to congestion caused by no less than 13 sets of traffic lights along it's 3 mile length from Cricklade Road down to where it finally plunges into Purton Road.

To add insult to injury for the motorist, most of the lights appear to be of the clockwork variety, and will continue to stop traffic on the major road at 2 o'clock in the morning for no reason at all, even though the minor side roads are deserted.

Indeed, there is a distinct feeling of being ‘in-phase’ or ‘out-of-phase’ with the lights when travelling on this road, as, even in the wee small hours when all is quiet, I will often catch all the lights on green in one direction, and then have every single go against me as I roll up on the return leg, or vice versa, for no apparent reason.

Well, your suggestions will never happen - you called for an 'intelligent' system!
Swindon Council don't do 'intelligent'

How we have to adapt this and many other towns to fit the 'motor age'....

....ten times the annual budget to provide local bus services in Swindon to be spent on just four road junctions....

Always Grumpy wrote:

Osiris wrote:
The problem is that Swindon's entire traffic management system is antiquated and ill-prepared for the 21st century traffic demands, such as has been bought on by the rampant expansion of the town so encouraged by SBC, and has been so for decades.

The first major improvement might be found by implementing an integrated traffic management system with intelligent traffic lights at all junctions that work in a co-ordinated manner to ease traffic flow.

Take, for example, Thamesdown Drive. Here we have a wide, fast feeling dual carriageway, which, when new and before the traffic lights were installed, was great to drive down.

The speed limit for this road is restricted to 40 mph. However, motorists usually average far less thanks to congestion caused by no less than 13 sets of traffic lights along it's 3 mile length from Cricklade Road down to where it finally plunges into Purton Road.

To add insult to injury for the motorist, most of the lights appear to be of the clockwork variety, and will continue to stop traffic on the major road at 2 o'clock in the morning for no reason at all, even though the minor side roads are deserted.

Indeed, there is a distinct feeling of being ‘in-phase’ or ‘out-of-phase’ with the lights when travelling on this road, as, even in the wee small hours when all is quiet, I will often catch all the lights on green in one direction, and then have every single go against me as I roll up on the return leg, or vice versa, for no apparent reason.

Well, your suggestions will never happen - you called for an 'intelligent' system!
Swindon Council don't do 'intelligent'

True ! Such a pity !

So when are SBC going to address the pinch points at the bottom of Thamesdown drive, Mead Way, Cheyney Manor and approaches to Blagrove and Mannington roundabouts from Shaw Ridge?

"Lets build lots of houses, stuff the road infrastructure" (c) SBC

Clearly looks like more wasted money on behalf of the Council. Wonder if these works will ever operate when finished!! I remember the bus junction on Drakes Way that NEVER opened followed by the Bus Junction at Wotton Bassett Road, which again NEVER opened. Well I can't see much improvement in either of the proposed plans as 95% of the system is currently in place!!! So where on earth does the £10m budget come from??? I've seen MAJOR road construction works cost that, not just a postage stamp sized project!!!

I think that the council are looking at this problem completely wrong, they are building a new multi storey car par in the centre, when really they should be cutting the amount of cars that are going in to the centre. How is it that swindon have gone backwards when other towns and cities have gone forward ie park and ride services, why not create a good park and ride service not like the rubbish we had before a service that runs at times you want from all different entrances into swindon, at a affordable price then increase the price of parking, all they have to do is go to bath to see how to run a park and ride and bath has not had any new roads for years. We have all seen what a good job council planners have done with the absolute discrace of a junction at whalebridge

@pablo777: hey, yeah, in fact, why not lay on free taxis for everyone who wants to get to the town centre - who cares how much it costs.

And while we're at it, have some strategically placed snipers on various town centre buildings to shoot anyone who dares try to drive their car in to do some shopping.

Oxford town council had a demented 'anti-car' policy for their town centre and they virtually destroyed it. It's the very last thing Swindon needs (and that's speaking as someone who walks in to town).