Bloody Traffic!

I guess writing a blog post about traffic or planning, (or traffic and planning even!), could mark the descent into middle-aged senescence, but the state of planning by North Yorkshire County Council’s roads department is deserving of a blog rant.

Here in Harrogate, they have been responsible for the design of a new road junction, here: https://goo.gl/maps/KrJqn.

The two lane turn right at Hookstone Rd onto the A61 Northbound is a prime example of a bad and probably dangerous junction. Turning south from Leadhall Lane feels scary even in large car as it is impossible to determine if it is safe to make the turn, so instead you hold back which results in all the traffic leaving Leadhall Lane being blocked. Why NYCC decided to deviate from the usual pattern of having a right-turn lane and a straight-on-or-left lane is not something I can determine. I suspect that the first serious accident at this junction will result in NYCC being on the receiving end of a court case when the defence argues that it is the junction at fault rather than a driver.

In the past couple of weeks I have twice seen people heading north on the A61 stopping because they are confused by the red light that controls the turn-right traffic. Most days there is one car stranded ahead of the stop line in the turn-right lane. Once, there were two, preventing east-west traffic.

The left turn into Leadhall Lane is difficult for the school buses going to Rossett and Asheville – I’ve seen one have to reverse back, blocking both lanes as it attempts the corner. This is lamentably bad and even a few brief consultation with bus companies would have shown how poorly laid out the entire thing is.

Update: Car drivers coming from Hookstone Road are starting to use the turn-left only lane as a straight-ahead lane. Illegal but predicable.