Stoke-on-Trent motorists reach average speed of less than 20mph in rush hour agony
MOTORISTS reach an average speed of less than 20mph and covered just one mile every three minutes on the city's congested main roads.
A national study of traffic flow on weekday mornings reveals drivers move far more slowly in Stoke-on-Trent than the 26.1mph average across the West Midlands.
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TRAFFIC FLOW: Etruria Road, which has suffered from congestion problems.
But the Department for Transport data also indicates that congestion in the city is starting to improve.
And average rush-hour speeds of 19.5mph on Stoke-on-Trent's A-roads compare favourably with 18.8mph in Birmingham, 17.4mph in Wolverhampton, 16.6mph in Nottingham and just 15.8mph in Manchester.
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The figures do not include major routes like the A500 and A50, which are overseen by the Highways Agency.
It comes as Stoke-on-Trent City Council plans to invest £10.5 million over the next four years on a Government-backed scheme to cut congestion and create better public transport links between key sites like Keele University and Hanley.
Pete Price, the council's assistant director of technical services, believes more can be done to ease delays.
He said: "Congestion is affected by so many different things – fuel prices, the weather, economy, condition of the roads, roadworks, as well as the things we do to manage roads and traffic signals.
"There is a positive trend, which is good news, but in 12 months' time it could well be the other way around because there are just so many factors."
Figures show it takes 2.06 minutes to cover a mile on A-roads managed by both Cheshire East Council and Staffordshire County Council.
The average morning speed in the county, which has significantly more free-flowing rural roads, is 28.9mph.
Business owner Nigel Foster, aged 46, from Meir Park, said: "The roads are choc-a-bloc in the mornings but it's something you seem to get in every city.
"You can't solve the problem without having a truly desirable bus or tram system, which people actually want to use instead of taking their cars."
Electrician Simon Bradley, aged 49, from Sneyd Green, said: "I would say things have improved a little bit. But it only takes one set of roadworks and temporary lights to bring a road to a standstill. You really notice it when kids go back to school."
Driving instructor Diane Hall, who teaches pupils across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, said more needs to be done to keep the roads moving.
She added: "I would say that the roads seem a little bit better than they used to be in terms of congestion but I don't think there has been any major change."
The city council said it works to manage congestion by investing in road repair and traffic management schemes, including the linking of traffic lights to stagger volumes on the city's busiest commuter routes.
Recent improvements include adding an extra lane at Cobridge traffic lights to stop so many vehicles queuing along Waterloo Road from Hanley.
Comments
by slowcoach
Thursday, November 08 2012, 4:10AM
“DJofTNE said that "Speed doesn't kill, it's the driver....". Of course speed kills, or to put it another way, speeding drivers kill. And the speedfreaks - as opposed to 'moderate' speeders - are by far the biggest killers proportionately. It's really quite simple:
The unexpected is always going to happen sooner or later, and the faster you're going the more likely it is that a collision will occur when it does, and the faster you're going the more likely it is that the injuries sustained will be fatal or very serious in the event of a collision. For example, motorways may be the 'safest' roads - and for obvious reasons - but when a collision/crash DOES occur, it is more likely to involve fatal or very serious injuries precisely because of the higher speeds.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and crippled and/or permanently brain-damaged during the past hundred years or so because of STUPIDITY - ie people who are too stupid to have figured out the obvious (as stated above). And THAT'S just in the UK!.Globally, tens of millions have been killed and crippled by stupidity.
40% of car occupant deaths, for example, happen in single vehicle crashes, and whilst some of them are due to the driver falling asleep, the vast majority of them happen because the driver was travelling much too fast, and THAT is precisely why they lost control.
As for road humps, in Hull where they have been installed for many years on many residential streets, fatalities have been reduced by 90%. But what do the speedfreaks who complain about them - and groups like the ironically-named Safe Speed and the pompous-sounding Association of British Drivers who campaign for humps to be removed - care about THAT!”
by camband
Wednesday, September 12 2012, 9:53PM
“@ DJofTNE....
No matter how you wriggle... you, and others -who have in the past chosen to ignore the 'powers that be' -those with the power to install speed cameras and speed humps -or 'bumps' if the latter word is more appropriate, are responsible for their existence.
I know it's a hard one to follow -but that's the truth of the matter. You can argue the toss 'til the cows come home my mate, but you and those others who like to go fast would have been far wiser to have all got together, pooled your resources -spent the time and effort to convince the 'powers that be' to see it your way.... and scrap the speed limits that so annoy you, in the places they so annoy you.
In that way, in the meantime you would be driving around at the speeds you are forced to drive at by the speed bumps -without the speed bumps if you get me. A little bit of self control and patience -and you'd all be far happier chappies than you are at the present -with all those humps to face every day, every week, every month -of every year... painful way of life, a 'sad confrontation'. Must be a nightmare.... living with such dread.
But wait, there's therapy on hand .... 'hit the red button'! Better than hitting the grey horrid little humps.”
by stevenweiss
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 11:27PM
“ironic that the road in the picture is so slow moving yet seems to have more than the usual number of speed cameras! Those cameras make lane-changing very dangerous, because it causes the traffic in the vicinity of the roundabout to all bunch up. The cameras should be pulled up and implanted somewhere more useful.”
by DJofTNE
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 12:01PM
“Camband has finally proven he cannot read properly, is this why you fail to answer anyone who questions you? Or is it because your an only child and you are used to getting your own way? Speed does'nt kill, its the driver ,if you want to believe anything else than thats up to you, but we can only provide proof, if you ignore the proof, more fool you. Being a psychologist i can tell that your one of these people who think its your god given right to do 40mph in the outside lane of a 50 zone and you think other people are bad drivers because they speed? Your kind of driver causes far more accidents than the people creeping over the limit. I do agree with you that there is no tolerance of speeding in housing estates and built up area, kids and folk should be the priority not getting home in a hurry.”
by Anon_mow_cop
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 9:55AM
“@camband
Quite agree with your comments about louts and speed-bumps, it us "sensible" motorists who try to drive safely who pay the price for the idiots who don't stick to the speed limits and we have ended up with speed-bumps everywhere like measles. The main road from Kidsgrove to Butt Lane is a classic case, where a minority were tearing through there at break-neck speeds, and now there are speed humps all the way along and ruined a good road.”
by zeroprobe
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 9:43AM
“@camband
I'm not saying do away with speed reduction measures and in some residential hotspots these are a necessity. But someone has definitely overused their speed bump approval stamp as you cannot avoid them now. It's so bad, I have to drive out of my way by quite a distance to avoid them.
You seem to ignore that I welcome speed cameras of all types over speed bumps. The most annoying thing about speed bumps is that they can be done well and very smooth. There are a couple of roads around Fenton that ensure you do 30 and the speed bump experience is very nice. It's ever so smooth going over them and I could honestly say these ones would not damage my vehicle. Yet they are the only acceptable speed bumps I can find around Stoke-On-Trent. The rest are rough, hard mountain tops. Whenever you go to the garage and they say that your tracking needs correcting, you can blame those three little ones.
The main point to the council is that if you are going to put speed bumps everywhere, PLEASE ensure that you install them correctly like the ones in Fenton and put some effort into making them tolerable.
Speed bumps can be effective if done right”
by camband
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 8:37AM
“By zeroprobe:
"And another well done for all the speed bumps around Stoke-On-Trent. My car has got to go into the garage soon to repair the damage caused by all of these little hell humps". UNQUOTE.
Speed bumps are more effective than cameras.... as the controversy on here bears out, with loads saying that they're always been overtaken by speeding drivers.
What came first the chicken or the egg? Blame the installation of speed bumps on those maniacs who ignore speed-limit laws and put local lives at risk at the various parts of North Staffordshire who suffered nightmare speeding lunacy.
Think yourself luck that SPEED BUMPS HAVEN'T BEEN INSTALLED ON THE A500.... 'Louts make laws'. If it wasn't for the louts, if no one broke the speed limits -ever, then there would be no need for SPEED BUMPS -or CAMERAS. Would there.
So every time you impatiently go over a 'speed bump' (at speed -and damage your suspension), or have to SLOW DOWN WHEN SEEING A CAMERA, then 'think' LOUT.”
by zeroprobe
Monday, September 10 2012, 11:27PM
“The road between Hanley going down to the Flyover in Festival Park is absolutely horrendous. To get from the top of the road to the bottom can take more than half an hour soley because of the amount of cars joining from the Tesco road.
The amount of traffic lights slowing the flow is another cause. Constant stop, start, stop, start. No wonder we can only do 20mph everywhere.
And another well done for all the speed bumps around Stoke-On-Trent. My car has got to go into the garage soon to repair the damage caused by all of these little hell humps. I appeal to the council to tear up all speed bumps and replace them with cameras. Thats right, I'm begging you for speed cameras !”
by zeroprobe
Monday, September 10 2012, 11:23PM
“The road between Hanley going down to the Flyover in Festival Park is absolutely horrendous. To get from the top of the road to the bottom can take more than half an hour soley because of the amount of cars joining from the Tesco road.
The amount of traffic lights slowing the flow is another cause. Constant stop, start, stop, start. No wonder we can only do 20mph everywhere.
And another well done for all the speed bumps around Stoke-On-Trent. My car has got to go into the garage soon to repair the damage caused by all of these little hell humps. I appeal to the council to tear up all speed bumps and replace them with cameras. Thats right, I'm begging you for speed cameras !!!!!”
by camband
Monday, September 10 2012, 6:51PM
“By Notanumber: -"Many a knocking off time a cyclist would pass me along by the Sentinel office as we headed for Newcastle, only to be passed by me in the car at the Queens then I'd be passed again at The Borough in Newcastle! Some nights he'd pass me in Etruria and be long gone....."
Wise man on the bike. Following the 'Tory Tebbit Economic Principle of Productivity' -ON YER BIKE!'”