Exhibit A: The new Arboretum junction is that bad that Morrisons car park is now the main route out of town from Lichfield Street, as you can no longer make the seemingly reasonable move of leaving Lichfield Street and going straight ahead or turning right onto the ring road. Only Walsall MBC can cock up the roads this well. To be honest, why not leave the island in place? The reason it got gridlocked was the pathetic single-lane bit to the west, which is being upgraded.
Exhibit B: That spangly new bridge at Brownhills, which was lovely and easy to cross either on foot, cycle, or, I’d imagine with a wheelchair, due to a choice of steps or wide, gradual ramps.
Well, they’ve fitted restrictor gates that mean you have to upend a bike to get through. Brilliant. It’s probably due to fuckwits on motorbikes, whose friends have scattered broken glass over it too. I presume a wheelchair still fits?
It’s time for a) Some planning, and b) a scumbag cull.
Exhibit C: the new bridge on Lime Lane near Yates’ boat yard.
They have taken a bridge (which was fun to go down 2 gears and thrash away from) down because some incompetent drivers were going too fast and hit the bridge…..and replaced it with one which INVITES you to take it faster.
Won’t be long for the first fatal RTA/RTC
I used to *love* the old bridge. Brake down to a slow enough speed (which was surprisingly quick), 2nd gear, one way, then the other, then hard on the power. If there wasn’t one of the dawdlers in front, of course.
Don’t you think the new bridge is probably negotiable faster than most people will do down that road? (Given whenever I go down it there’s some twat doing 35 mph) Or is it the fact that the bridge won’t slow them, so they’ll hit something either side?
I could never understand how anyone hit the old bridge: With the car under control you really could get over it quickly. It also had some character to it.
This does raise the point of a ‘dangerous road/bridge/junction’. Some will argue there’s no such thing: merely drivers not equipped for them. Black Cock Bridge near here is sometimes said to be dangerous: but approached with the correct care, it’s perfectly safe.
It’s the usual thing….spend loads of money on something that was only a problem for mongs.
Lets face it, it’s the main route between Pelsall and Norton Canes FFS.
I remember back in the day (hahaha) when I used to knock the bike down two gears, keep the revs high and bollock it away from that bridge toward Pelsall hitting 110ish on the entrance to the slough and then riding the wobble in the dip in the road, cresting the next rise and the front wheel going ever so light, dab on the brakes for the mongs/doggers turning out of Fishley Lane and then a hammer down to the (what was) Oak bridge. Can’t do that in a diesel people carrier 🙁