Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: spartacuss on September 21, 2014, 01:49:05 PM
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Anyone else caught up in the mother of all jams leaving the Arsenal match via Aston Hall Road, Lichfield Road and Spaghetti Junction? In 15 years of parking and using this route - including many 40,000 + games - it's the worst I've ever experienced.
And the reason? Over the summer, whichever Highways Dept. was responsible installed traffic lights at the Spaghetti Junction/Salford Circus roundabout and consequently, instead of what used to be a fairly regular flow to the M6 North and South and Erdington/Sutton, the traffic was forced to come to a shuddering halt every couple of minutes as the lights allowed the enormous tide of 2 or 3 cars coming from the Tyburn Road their 3 or 4 statutory minutes! Multiply this a few times and anyone can see that it soon, exponentially, combines to create an enormous tail-back.
Whatever happened to discretionary use of traffic lights at roundabouts and motorway access for Monday to Friday peak-times only etc.? Surely once a fortnight these lights could be suspended for a couple of hours following a match and thereby relieve the frustration and vehicle pollution of a massive jam? And talking of relief, God help anyone who had a carload of people who needed a more tangible form of it... For the record, it took me 47 minutes to travel from the Priory Road/Aston Hall Road junction to Spaghetti Junction - a distance of half a mile.
This could be a real deterrent to the casual fans who the club needs for growth to complement any success in the league. Anyone know who can be contacted to remedy this situation?
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The Highways Agency, I assume. If they don't help, maybe contact the relevant MP. I imagine not having massive traffic build ups every time Villa were at home would likely be of interest to them.
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Get hold of Lee Preece. lee.preece@avfc.co.uk and his direct line is 0121 326 1502. It's the sort of thing that they won't know about if nobody tells them. Also PM amfy to get the Trust involved.
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I always stay to the end of the game and it has been a nightmare this season. I left after 75 minutes yesterday and found it a lot better. Not that I am going to start leaving early every week.
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I was later than normal arriving yesterday (2 1/2 hours just to make the 45 mile drive from 'Nam), so had to park in Tesco rather than my normal spot at the school further up Aston Lane.
I thought that I got back to the car fairly quick but it still took 40 mins to exit the car park. The main problem was drivers, notably number 11 buses, blocking the car park exit so that cars couldn't get out even during the short times that the lights were green.
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If the jam yesterday was due to the new lights then the club needs to be in talks with the police or Highways Agency first thing Monday to ensure something's done about it for future games. It was beyond a joke, 45 miserable mins to reach the island from halfway down Aston Hall Rd!!
I assumed there'd been a bump up ahead to be honest.
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What was wrong with the roundabout as it was?
I get the feeling that some graduate at the Highways Agency was given the project of increasing capacity on roundabouts and he used the the twisted logic that the problem is big gaps between cars and that if you reduced these gaps, say by stopping all the traffic, you can massively increase the capacity. It's an absolute nonsense.
All traffic lights on roundabouts should be switched off outside of rush hour. Let the white lines painted on the roundabout control the traffic.
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Was the worst we've known it too. Will start going towards town and that way in future until they sort the lights. No need for them at all unless the council had some budget they had to spend?
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Get hold of Lee Preece. lee.preece@avfc.co.uk and his direct line is 0121 326 1502. It's the sort of thing that they won't know about if nobody tells them. Also PM amfy to get the Trust involved.
Didnt know Lee was in the transport operations of Villa?
highways agency might be interested, and I think the police may well have made a report. idks
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He's supporter liaison. So even if he can't personally help or look into it, he will make sure it is passed on to those that can.
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That island was down to 1 line on Friday it might of been the same on Saturday.
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He is Supporter Liaison Officer - so he could take this up on fans behalf maybe? It's possible that it could carry a bit more weight from him, or that he could assess the level of inconvenience being caused by collating fan complaints. This might have more effect than a few individual fans contacting the highways agency.
You can contact him direct, & I'll float it with him too.
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He is Supporter Liaison Officer - so he could take this up on fans behalf maybe? It's possible that it could carry a bit more weight from him, or that he could assess the level of inconvenience being caused by collating fan complaints. This might have more effect than a few individual fans contacting the highways agency.
You can contact him direct, & I'll float it with him too.
helpful information, glad weve got someone who can sort it out.
the highways are such hard work.
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I had similar massive delays getting to the game from the south east via the M6. There was a five mile tail back about a mile south of the Coventry exit caused by a lane being coned off for the common invisible reason. Add to that the massive congestion of the roadworks at the M1/M6 junction and the same at Kettering on the A14 and my 100 mile journey took over four hours, all on dual carriageway roads except a mile or two from my village to the A14.
It was particularly infuriating because Bad English was in town and I missed him. All the time which should have been spent plying him with drink was spent raging at the Highways Agency.
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I had similar massive delays getting to the game from the south east via the M6. There was a five mile tail back about a mile south of the Coventry exit caused by a lane being coned off for the common invisible reason. Add to that the massive congestion of the roadworks at the M1/M6 junction and the same at Kettering on the A14 and my 100 mile journey took over four hours, all on dual carriageway roads except a mile or two from my village to the A14.
It was particularly infuriating because Bad English was in town and I missed him. All the time which should have been spent plying him with drink was spent raging at the Highways Agency.
that was the same journey for me Brian.....it was awful. I left at 11.30am and got to the Bartons at 2pm, just in time for a quick pint.
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Having missed BE at the Bartons we went straight to the game still in a foul mood. We all know we should not let the driving do it to us but it always seems to be worst when you are really looking forward to something. If I had been driving to Birmingham for dental root canal work the roads would have been as empty as the Small Heath trophy cabinet.
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It's a pain getting to work in the morning on the rare occasions I get the bus to town with those lights there now.
Regarding getting away, if you need to get back to Erdington/Sutton way then I'd suggest parking at Star City or just using the slip round that will get you back on the Tyburn road a lot quicker.
Or if you want to get on the M6 quicker, maybe better to park somewhere around the Holford estate as it's easier to get on the Scott Arms junction from there.
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...brothers and sisters!!!!!
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The road system around Villa Park is ancient but definitely not justified.
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My normal two-hour drive up from North London (leaving at 10.45 to get to the Holte Suite for 1.45) took me nearer four hours - arrived at 2.30 just in time to down a burger and go into the ground. Inexplicably long delays all the way up the M1 ending in a 25 mile stretch of 50mph limit with cones and absolutely nothing going on. Then getting off the M6 to the A38 was a pain. Then getting away from the ground back on to the M6 also a nightmare. And we lost. And they were all ill. Not a good day.
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He is Supporter Liaison Officer - so he could take this up on fans behalf maybe? It's possible that it could carry a bit more weight from him, or that he could assess the level of inconvenience being caused by collating fan complaints. This might have more effect than a few individual fans contacting the highways agency.
You can contact him direct, & I'll float it with him too.
Update on contact with Lee Preece (Supporter Liaison Officer): He's contacted the Council and the traffic police and the responsibility lies with the Urban Traffic Management team (one of whom was ensnared in the jam too!). Lee was assured that they are aware of the problem and that they will work on a solution. Nothing as specific as neutralising the lights... yet. The hope is that there should be an improvement for the Man. City game. If there's no improvement (or relative inaction on the part of the UTM), then Lee is primed to up the ante and take it further.
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I take issue with the title of this thread, didnt Tears for Fears, actually say "kick out the style bring back the Jam" ?
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I take issue with the title of this thread, didnt Tears for Fears, actually say "kick out the style bring back the Jam" ?
MC5 weren't it… Kick out the jams???
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ok MC5 , IM SORRY but youve bettered me, I aint got a clue, mine was from tears for fears , song sowing the seeds of love