Drivers are being deterred from using Colchester’s new A12 junction, it has been claimed.
The £11.2million junction 28 was heralded as the first crucial step in a series of improvements to relieve the town’s congestion.
But signposts on the A12 only direct motorists to Colchester General Hospital – despite the junction providing a key route to Colchester United’s Weston Homes Community Stadium and the Severalls Lane business park.
Whoops!
Transport bosses don’t want drivers using the new junction until more work is done to relieve congestion, says ward councillor Martin Goss.
That’s rather like not starting painting the Forth Bridge because you’ll only have to start again sometime, isn’t it?
A Highways Agency spokesman said: “The agency is planning to install signage to the stadium on a date to be agreed…”
UK officialdom for ‘Manyana…’
I've been wondering about this one for a while - the stadium has been clearly visible from the road throughout its construction but the signs still completely ignore its presence.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't hold your breath; like buses sailing past queues at every stop because picking up passengers would disrupt the timetable, the stadium's new access roads are doubtless being held up as a model of congestion-free efficiency - a triumph of urban planning while it lasts.
If it genuinely does offer a quicker route, drivers will in practice take about two days to work it out, regardless of signing…
ReplyDeleteCurmudgeon, this is Colchester we're talking about - ever seen their supporters out en masse on a Saturday night?
ReplyDeleteThe words 'backside', 'two hands' and 'a map' spring to mind.
Having driven past it this morning, I can confirm the complete absence of signage - and the likelihood that visiting northbound fans will see it from the road just as they approach the junction in the fast lane.
ReplyDeleteAt least when the inevitable happens and some match-bound idiot cuts across two lanes of dual carriageway at rush hour there'll be a hospital just round the corner to cope with the resultant carnage.
"...the stadium's new access roads are doubtless being held up as a model of congestion-free efficiency - a triumph of urban planning while it lasts."
ReplyDeleteLike any 'service sector', it runs much smoother without all those dreadful 'customers'...
"...there'll be a hospital just round the corner to cope with the resultant carnage."
Yes, but it'll be an Essex hospital! The death toll won't be much reduced...