The biggest problem this country will face over the next twenty years are it's road networks. They are plainly not fit for purpose within an increasing vehicle using population. And the governing body looking after them have no solutions.
They'll still spend millions having a go mind. Without getting anywhere near a solution. Ands that's probably because in most cases there is very little they can do.
It doesn't take much today to bring the roads to their knees. Think about what it will be like in 15-20 years time!
Huge problem.
Its ok we leave the EU next year, that must mean no foreigners will be in the country, that should free up some space, surely?
The biggest problem this country will face over the next twenty years are it's road networks. They are plainly not fit for purpose within an increasing vehicle using population. And the governing body looking after them have no solutions.
They'll still spend millions having a go mind. Without getting anywhere near a solution. Ands that's probably because in most cases there is very little they can do.
It doesn't take much today to bring the roads to their knees. Think about what it will be like in 15-20 years time!
Huge problem.
Its ok we leave the EU next year, that must mean no foreigners will be in the country, that should free up some space, surely?
Next March should be fun as well!
Just driven from Andalusia to Bilbao (including through Madrid) over the last couple of days. Been an absolute doddle. Fun will start trying to get from Portsmouth to home!
There is a Facebook group called MagicMaidstone which is calling for a southern ring road in Maidstone to link M20 J8 to M20 J4. If we had a ring road in Maidstone it would certainly help in situations such as this morning when the M20 was closed. Travelling through the centre of Maidstone is difficult when traffic is normal, but as soon as there is a problem on the motorway we have grid lock. A ring road is so needed with all the houses being built in the area.
There is a Facebook group called MagicMaidstone which is calling for a southern ring road in Maidstone to link M20 J8 to M20 J4. If we had a ring road in Maidstone it would certainly help in situations such as this morning when the M20 was closed. Travelling through the centre of Maidstone is difficult when traffic is normal, but as soon as there is a problem on the motorway we have grid lock. A ring road is so needed with all the houses being built in the area.
The ring road around Maidstone has been on the table for discussion since 1990, I don't think it will ever happen.
There is a Facebook group called MagicMaidstone which is calling for a southern ring road in Maidstone to link M20 J8 to M20 J4. If we had a ring road in Maidstone it would certainly help in situations such as this morning when the M20 was closed. Travelling through the centre of Maidstone is difficult when traffic is normal, but as soon as there is a problem on the motorway we have grid lock. A ring road is so needed with all the houses being built in the area.
The ring road around Maidstone has been on the table for discussion since 1990, I don't think it will ever happen.
The discussions are probably going round in circles.
I regularly drive 1350 miles from UK to Cadiz, Spain and vice versa. The only traffic congestion I ever encounter is in Kent. To compound things in the last few years the standard of driving in this country seems to have deteriorated significantly. Successive governments pushing massive housing development in the South East yet nothing is done to improve the road infrastructure........ bell ends...
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Cars drive too close to each other on the A2 in the 50mph stretch when it's quite busy. I remember it being national speed limit. It might need varible speed limit. But if at times it comes down to 30 at times then it defeats the object of a bypass. But having it at 40 at times might make things a bit less dangerous.
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Lane discipline is a huge problem in the UK. I try my hardest not to let it annoy me but it's so fucking dangerous and hardly anyone who does it, does so ignorantly. Loads of my mates are atrocious for it I have given up telling them to move over to the left now. I'd dearly love the police to start making good their claim a few years ago they were going to crack down on it. As lazy it would be to blame it on foreign drivers I apportion a bit of blame to the volume of African uber and Addison Lee drivers who might as well petition Higways England to name the middle lane of the M20, A2 and M25 after them. It's not exclusively our foreign brethren however, the problem is a British one. Go to France, Belgium or Germany and the lane discipline is something to behold. Move out to overtake a line of traffic leave your left indicator on and the real headcases doing 120 know to ease off and let you overtake and move back over
I regularly drive 1350 miles from UK to Cadiz, Spain and vice versa. The only traffic congestion I ever encounter is in Kent. To compound things in the last few years the standard of driving in this country seems to have deteriorated significantly. Successive governments pushing massive housing development in the South East yet nothing is done to improve the road infrastructure........ bell ends...
Have to agree with you there. Have done a fair bit of driving in Spain and France during the last 5 years and they just know how to drive properly. Its a joy to drive over there.
Canary Wharf to Petts wood tonight, idiots everywhere.
I regularly drive 1350 miles from UK to Cadiz, Spain and vice versa. The only traffic congestion I ever encounter is in Kent. To compound things in the last few years the standard of driving in this country seems to have deteriorated significantly. Successive governments pushing massive housing development in the South East yet nothing is done to improve the road infrastructure........ bell ends...
Have to agree with you there. Have done a fair bit of driving in Spain and France during the last 5 years and they just know how to drive properly. Its a joy to drive over there.
Canary Wharf to Petts wood tonight, idiots everywhere.
The biggest problem this country will face over the next twenty years are it's road networks. They are plainly not fit for purpose within an increasing vehicle using population. And the governing body looking after them have no solutions.
They'll still spend millions having a go mind. Without getting anywhere near a solution. Ands that's probably because in most cases there is very little they can do.
It doesn't take much today to bring the roads to their knees. Think about what it will be like in 15-20 years time!
Huge problem.
Its ok we leave the EU next year, that must mean no foreigners will be in the country, that should free up some space, surely?
Next March should be fun as well!
Just driven from Andalusia to Bilbao (including through Madrid) over the last couple of days. Been an absolute doddle. Fun will start trying to get from Portsmouth to home!
Pop density Spain = 93 per Km2 (and less away from the coasts) Pop density England = 427/km2 (and rising and higher yet in SE England.)
PS, although I voted remain, there are many on CL who see the EU as perfect. It isnt.
From The Daily Torygraph.
EU wastes ยฃ2.5 billion on motorways that were not needed The EU has wasted up to โฌ3 billion (ยฃ2.5 billion) building motorways that were not needed, according to the European Court of Auditors.
Motorways were built where express roads would have sufficed, the court said, with 14 out of 19 EU-financed road projects throughout Europe reporting much less traffic-use than had been expected.
Nearly all the projects ran over deadline by an average of nine months, with a subsequent increase in labour.
The ECA, the EUยดs Luxembourg-based financial watchdog, cites an example of a six mile stretch of a new motorway costing โฌ280m from Algeciras to Barcelona where traffic use was more than 50 per cent less than predicted.
The La Herradura project in Spain, it says, is one of several examples of road construction schemes where money "could have been spent on a different projects with higher economic returns. The European Commission approach to funding projects is to give bags of cash away and let the countries get on with it themselves. There is no proper accountability and no proper checks"
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Lane discipline is a huge problem in the UK. I try my hardest not to let it annoy me but it's so fucking dangerous and hardly anyone who does it, does so ignorantly. Loads of my mates are atrocious for it I have given up telling them to move over to the left now. I'd dearly love the police to start making good their claim a few years ago they were going to crack down on it. As lazy it would be to blame it on foreign drivers I apportion a bit of blame to the volume of African uber and Addison Lee drivers who might as well petition Higways England to name the middle lane of the M20, A2 and M25 after them. It's not exclusively our foreign brethren however, the problem is a British one. Go to France, Belgium or Germany and the lane discipline is something to behold. Move out to overtake a line of traffic leave your left indicator on and the real headcases doing 120 know to ease off and let you overtake and move back over
Its bad of me too these days yet majority of the time I'll just undertake someone if I'm going past them on the A2... Dangerous in itself I know but keep a very cautious eye on whether they're tempted to come over (99% of the time they dont though) - What was worse coming home from work today was at the bottom of Swanscombe Cutting where a learner was in the second lane and doing about 50mph, wasnt close to overtaking someone and you had to question why the instructor hadn't told them to move over
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Lane discipline is a huge problem in the UK. I try my hardest not to let it annoy me but it's so fucking dangerous and hardly anyone who does it, does so ignorantly. Loads of my mates are atrocious for it I have given up telling them to move over to the left now. I'd dearly love the police to start making good their claim a few years ago they were going to crack down on it. As lazy it would be to blame it on foreign drivers I apportion a bit of blame to the volume of African uber and Addison Lee drivers who might as well petition Higways England to name the middle lane of the M20, A2 and M25 after them. It's not exclusively our foreign brethren however, the problem is a British one. Go to France, Belgium or Germany and the lane discipline is something to behold. Move out to overtake a line of traffic leave your left indicator on and the real headcases doing 120 know to ease off and let you overtake and move back over
Its bad of me too these days yet majority of the time I'll just undertake someone if I'm going past them on the A2... Dangerous in itself I know but keep a very cautious eye on whether they're tempted to come over (99% of the time they dont though) - What was worse coming home from work today was at the bottom of Swanscombe Cutting where a learner was in the second lane and doing about 50mph, wasnt close to overtaking someone and you had to question why the instructor hadn't told them to move over
That's what makes me so angry, the driver doing the correct thing ends up doing something dangerous or has to change from lane 1 to 3 maintaining the same speed to get round some handpump mincing along in the middle lane
You are doing nothing wrong mate but I understand and appreciate what you are saying
The A2 is appalling for this sort of driving menace
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Lane discipline is a huge problem in the UK. I try my hardest not to let it annoy me but it's so fucking dangerous and hardly anyone who does it, does so ignorantly. Loads of my mates are atrocious for it I have given up telling them to move over to the left now. I'd dearly love the police to start making good their claim a few years ago they were going to crack down on it. As lazy it would be to blame it on foreign drivers I apportion a bit of blame to the volume of African uber and Addison Lee drivers who might as well petition Higways England to name the middle lane of the M20, A2 and M25 after them. It's not exclusively our foreign brethren however, the problem is a British one. Go to France, Belgium or Germany and the lane discipline is something to behold. Move out to overtake a line of traffic leave your left indicator on and the real headcases doing 120 know to ease off and let you overtake and move back over
Its bad of me too these days yet majority of the time I'll just undertake someone if I'm going past them on the A2... Dangerous in itself I know but keep a very cautious eye on whether they're tempted to come over (99% of the time they dont though) - What was worse coming home from work today was at the bottom of Swanscombe Cutting where a learner was in the second lane and doing about 50mph, wasnt close to overtaking someone and you had to question why the instructor hadn't told them to move over
That's what makes me so angry, the driver doing the correct thing ends up doing something dangerous or has to change from lane 1 to 3 maintaining the same speed to get round some handpump mincing along in the middle lane
You are doing nothing wrong mate but I understand and appreciate what you are saying
The A2 is appalling for this sort of driving menace
If I remember the rules right arent you allowed to undertake provided that the car your undertaking is doing less than the speed limit?
But Im definitely not going from 1 to 3 and back to 1 again because thats how the bottlenecks get created
A2 is certainly one of the worst roads for driving on not just for traffic but for lane discipline
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Lane discipline is a huge problem in the UK. I try my hardest not to let it annoy me but it's so fucking dangerous and hardly anyone who does it, does so ignorantly. Loads of my mates are atrocious for it I have given up telling them to move over to the left now. I'd dearly love the police to start making good their claim a few years ago they were going to crack down on it. As lazy it would be to blame it on foreign drivers I apportion a bit of blame to the volume of African uber and Addison Lee drivers who might as well petition Higways England to name the middle lane of the M20, A2 and M25 after them. It's not exclusively our foreign brethren however, the problem is a British one. Go to France, Belgium or Germany and the lane discipline is something to behold. Move out to overtake a line of traffic leave your left indicator on and the real headcases doing 120 know to ease off and let you overtake and move back over
Its bad of me too these days yet majority of the time I'll just undertake someone if I'm going past them on the A2... Dangerous in itself I know but keep a very cautious eye on whether they're tempted to come over (99% of the time they dont though) - What was worse coming home from work today was at the bottom of Swanscombe Cutting where a learner was in the second lane and doing about 50mph, wasnt close to overtaking someone and you had to question why the instructor hadn't told them to move over
That's what makes me so angry, the driver doing the correct thing ends up doing something dangerous or has to change from lane 1 to 3 maintaining the same speed to get round some handpump mincing along in the middle lane
You are doing nothing wrong mate but I understand and appreciate what you are saying
The A2 is appalling for this sort of driving menace
If I remember the rules right arent you allowed to undertake provided that the car your undertaking is doing less than the speed limit?
But Im definitely not going from 1 to 3 and back to 1 again because thats how the bottlenecks get created
Get on the A2 and move into the outside lane asap and stay at the "unofficial" speed limit safely and responsibly, then you have half a chance of spotting the imbeciles who are unable to negotiate the Bluewater or M25 turnoffs without slaloming across lanes of traffic at the last minute.
Repeat on the way back.
In 2013 I lived in Scotland for 9 months. I drove back to see my girls 8 times that year. At no time from leaving my Brothers' front door in Rosneath to rocking up at my daughters places in Medway did I feel threatened on the road, until I hit the South-East, the M25 and A2. It is absolute bell end central...
Ive learnt to do the opposite now with the A2 (especially in the mornings) - I stay in the first lane and slowly go past everyone rushing over to the third and fourth lanes because they think they're the quickest two
Close all ports and tunnels . No reason for people to drive to coastal areas , also ban people from driving kids to school ๐ problem solved ๐๐๐
Middle lane hoggers do my head in. I constantly joke about them but eventually I lose my rag, overtake them, then cut their noses off by moving swiftly from lane 3 to lane 1 to prove a point.
Sometimes I get very close to them to prove that point. Wrong I know, but I get so frustrated by these idiots with no idea the effect they're having on the traffic behind them.
Like drivers who block off junctions when they're not going anywhere, they drive me mad.
Selfish, selfish individuals who care about no one else but themselves.
Middle lane hoggers do my head in. I constantly joke about them but eventually I lose my rag, overtake them, then cut their noses off by moving swiftly from lane 3 to lane 1 to prove a point.
Sometimes I get very close to them to prove that point. Wrong I know, but I get so frustrated by these idiots with no idea the effect they're having on the traffic behind them.
Like drivers who block off junctions when they're not going anywhere, they drive me mad.
Selfish, selfish individuals who care about no one else but themselves.
I am just glad you don't let their selfish, thoughtless behaviour impact the way you drive....:)
I'm totally convinced that Highways England are dedicated to causing a much disruption to the road network in Kent as they possible can and to cause as much misery to the long suffering people of Kent.
We have overnight closures on the M2, M20 and M26 often at the same time, though admittedly not always in the same direction. The M2 Medway Bridge is the latest to have overnight closures in the coming weeks.
The road network in Kent is so fragile and currently very prone to accidents, that any disruption on one of these roads has a knock on effect on the rest of the network. I know that they're in a hurry to complete the Operation Brock alternative to Operation Stack, but do they really have to mess up the M2 as well?
If a proper alternative to Operation Stack had been put in place after the summer disruption in 2015, we wouldn't be in this mess now. Using the main motorway connecting the UK with Europe as a lorry park is crazy. Permanent lorry parks are the only sane solution. There are insufficient places for HGV drivers to take a rest and it would stop them parking up overnight in totally unsuitable places. I know that Operation Brock is only a temporary solution and that there is currently a consultation for a permanent solution, but it is proving very expensive, disruptive and damaging to the economy of Kent. Using Manston is also not a good solution, it is too far from Dover & Folkestone and much of it accessed by single carriageway roads.
I'm amazed there are not more accidents on the A102/A2 down to the amount of weaving in and out of traffic at high speed that you see. I only think it's down to people anticipating the dangerous driving of these twunts that accidents are avoided.
There seems to be no police presence to stop this and it seems to be getting worse year by year. The idiots who drive like this should be taken off the road as they could quite easily kill someone.
M20 junctions 3 to 5, Maidstone Kent: Smart Motorways Work to improve journeys continues this week on the M20 between junctions 3 and 5. On Monday 5 November there will be a full closure of the westbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 2 for four nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via the A20. On Friday 9 November there will be a full closure of the eastbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 6 for two nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A229, M2, A228. Narrow lanes and a reduced speed limit of 50mph remain in place 24/7. A free recovery service and speed enforcement are now in place to ensure drivers and road workers safety.
M20 junctions 9 to 11, Kent: Junction 10a Construction Work to improve the network continue this week on the M20. There are currently 24 hour lane closure and 50mph speed restriction in place in both directions between junctions 9 and 11. This will remain in place until January 2020.
M20 junctions 8 to 9, Kent: resurfacing Work to improve the network take place this week on the M20. There will be a full eastbound carriageway closure between junction 8 and 9 on Monday 5 November for six nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A249, M2, A2, A20 and M20.
M20 junctions 9 to 7, Kent; road surface repairs Work to improve journeys continue this week on the M20. There are currently 24 hour narrow lanes in place, and a 50mph speed restriction on the westbound carriageway between junctions 9 and 8. In addition, there will be a full westbound closure between junction 9 and 8 on Monday 5 November for six nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A28 and A20.
Comments
Just driven from Andalusia to Bilbao (including through Madrid) over the last couple of days. Been an absolute doddle. Fun will start trying to get from Portsmouth to home!
Is it traffic to rise by 30% in the next 25 years
Drove down to Cornwall and back last year and the road were lovely the way people drove, was back on the A2 for five minutes coming home and it was a free for all
Canary Wharf to Petts wood tonight, idiots everywhere.
Pop density England = 427/km2 (and rising and higher yet in SE England.)
PS, although I voted remain, there are many on CL who see the EU as perfect.
It isnt.
From The Daily Torygraph.
EU wastes ยฃ2.5 billion on motorways that were not needed
The EU has wasted up to โฌ3 billion (ยฃ2.5 billion) building motorways that were not needed, according to the European Court of Auditors.
Motorways were built where express roads would have sufficed, the court said, with 14 out of 19 EU-financed road projects throughout Europe reporting much less traffic-use than had been expected.
Nearly all the projects ran over deadline by an average of nine months, with a subsequent increase in labour.
The ECA, the EUยดs Luxembourg-based financial watchdog, cites an example of a six mile stretch of a new motorway costing โฌ280m from Algeciras to Barcelona where traffic use was more than 50 per cent less than predicted.
The La Herradura project in Spain, it says, is one of several examples of road construction schemes where money "could have been spent on a different projects with higher economic returns. The European Commission approach to funding projects is to give bags of cash away and let the countries get on with it themselves. There is no proper accountability and no proper checks"
You are doing nothing wrong mate but I understand and appreciate what you are saying
The A2 is appalling for this sort of driving menace
But Im definitely not going from 1 to 3 and back to 1 again because thats how the bottlenecks get created
Get on the A2 and move into the outside lane asap and stay at the "unofficial" speed limit safely and responsibly, then you have half a chance of spotting the imbeciles who are unable to negotiate the Bluewater or M25 turnoffs without slaloming across lanes of traffic at the last minute.
Repeat on the way back.
In 2013 I lived in Scotland for 9 months. I drove back to see my girls 8 times that year. At no time from leaving my Brothers' front door in Rosneath to rocking up at my daughters places in Medway did I feel threatened on the road, until I hit the South-East, the M25 and A2. It is absolute bell end central...
No reason for people to drive to coastal areas , also ban people from driving kids to school ๐ problem solved ๐๐๐
Sometimes I get very close to them to prove that point. Wrong I know, but I get so frustrated by these idiots with no idea the effect they're having on the traffic behind them.
Like drivers who block off junctions when they're not going anywhere, they drive me mad.
Selfish, selfish individuals who care about no one else but themselves.
We have overnight closures on the M2, M20 and M26 often at the same time, though admittedly not always in the same direction. The M2 Medway Bridge is the latest to have overnight closures in the coming weeks.
The road network in Kent is so fragile and currently very prone to accidents, that any disruption on one of these roads has a knock on effect on the rest of the network. I know that they're in a hurry to complete the Operation Brock alternative to Operation Stack, but do they really have to mess up the M2 as well?
If a proper alternative to Operation Stack had been put in place after the summer disruption in 2015, we wouldn't be in this mess now. Using the main motorway connecting the UK with Europe as a lorry park is crazy. Permanent lorry parks are the only sane solution. There are insufficient places for HGV drivers to take a rest and it would stop them parking up overnight in totally unsuitable places. I know that Operation Brock is only a temporary solution and that there is currently a consultation for a permanent solution, but it is proving very expensive, disruptive and damaging to the economy of Kent. Using Manston is also not a good solution, it is too far from Dover & Folkestone and much of it accessed by single carriageway roads.
There seems to be no police presence to stop this and it seems to be getting worse year by year. The idiots who drive like this should be taken off the road as they could quite easily kill someone.
https://www.downsmail.co.uk/news_sport/News/M20_disruption_predicted_over_next_week_for_works_-_FULL_DETAILS/
M20 junctions 3 to 5, Maidstone Kent: Smart Motorways
Work to improve journeys continues this week on the M20 between junctions 3 and 5. On Monday 5 November there will be a full closure of the westbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 2 for four nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via the A20. On Friday 9 November there will be a full closure of the eastbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 6 for two nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A229, M2, A228. Narrow lanes and a reduced speed limit of 50mph remain in place 24/7. A free recovery service and speed enforcement are now in place to ensure drivers and road workers safety.
M20 junctions 9 to 11, Kent: Junction 10a Construction
Work to improve the network continue this week on the M20. There are currently 24 hour lane closure and 50mph speed restriction in place in both directions between junctions 9 and 11. This will remain in place until January 2020.
M20 junctions 8 to 9, Kent: resurfacing
Work to improve the network take place this week on the M20. There will be a full eastbound carriageway closure between junction 8 and 9 on Monday 5 November for six nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A249, M2, A2, A20 and M20.
M20 junctions 9 to 7, Kent; road surface repairs
Work to improve journeys continue this week on the M20. There are currently 24 hour narrow lanes in place, and a 50mph speed restriction on the westbound carriageway between junctions 9 and 8. In addition, there will be a full westbound closure between junction 9 and 8 on Monday 5 November for six nights between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via A28 and A20.