A4 / Henwick lane traffic lights, Dangerously out of phase ! Options

[DereckT]

Out walking the dog tonight, paused to watch the traffic light phasing at the A4 / Henwick lane junction (by the fish shop / newsagents). Lights go green on the A4 for between 4 - 6 seconds (allowing around 4 cars to go through), before changing to go green for 10 seconds to let Henwick lane traffic join. Now in 10 phases of lights I saw many cars on the A4 having to stop quickly (and quite a few going from Thatcham to Newbury "jumped" the red light), but in 10 phases not a single car came down Henwick Lane. Remeber the lights for Henwick lane are staying green for 10 seconds, the much busier A4 for only a maximum of 6.
If nothing else the poor residents on the A4 at this junction are being treated to endless HGV's braking, idling then accelerating (with attendant noise / pollution) completely uneccesarily .
Who is responsible for his - can it be changed in the name of common sense ?

[Rowley Birkin]

sounds like you had an exciting evening

[Andy Capp]

Nearly as exciting as trolling forums looking for posters to mock!

[motormad]

sounds like you had an exciting evening

Ah yes, and your post which contained no substance or humor (one of the two are required to post) .

A lot of traffic lights in Thatcham & Newbury are stupid. They are green for ages and literally the minute you pass over the induction loops in the ground, they go red.
Meaning you have to slow down and stop wasting fuel. And the council are supposed to be eco. Junctions like Henwick, and the one near the Little Schewazn whatever it's called (near the Skatepark in Thatcham) are both the same.

They "default" to the minor entry unless there is traffic present on the main road.
Very very very VERY stupid.

[Andy Capp]

Ah yes, and your post which contained no substance or humor (one of the two are required to post) .

A lot of traffic lights in Thatcham & Newbury are stupid. They are green for ages and literally the minute you pass over the induction loops in the ground, they go red.
Meaning you have to slow down and stop wasting fuel. And the council are supposed to be eco. Junctions like Henwick, and the one near the Little Schewazn whatever it's called (near the Skatepark in Thatcham) are both the same.

They "default" to the minor entry unless there is traffic present on the main road.
Very very very VERY stupid.

Yes, I find that if the 'Nawab lights' are red, then you'll have red all through Thatcham!

[spartacus]

I realise this is the rant line, but how about putting this through to the Council's 'Report a Fault' page?
Fix the traffic signals

Traffic signals rely on computer wizardry. And computers have a knack of doing what the *heck* (edited coz the website doesn't like us to use He-ll) they want despite the best efforts of spanner technicians hitting them. The phasing has probably just defaulted back to the factory settings and it needs a traffic signals engineer to give the control box a swift kick.

[spartacus]

Yes, I find that if the 'Nawab lights' are red, then you'll have red all through Thatcham!

However if they're on green you'll likely have them on green all the way through (unless someone presses the pedestrian crossing outside Crown Mead) Ya win some, ya lose some.

Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique, otherwise known as SCOOT. But I still reckon the control is ****** and just needs a kick.

[dannyboy]

changing lights from green to red just as cars approach is a well known traffic calming ploy.

[Andy Capp]

However if they're on green you'll likely have them on green all the way through (unless someone presses the pedestrian crossing outside Crown Mead) Ya win some, ya lose some. Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique, otherwise known as SCOOT. But I still reckon the control is ****** and just needs a kick.

changing lights from green to red just as cars approach is a well known traffic calming ploy.

Bloody nuisance at night when there's little traffic! A bit like the bloody nuisance at the Pound St/Bart St junction at night.

[Biker1]

Obviously the phasing has gone askew so just report it to the powers that be, in this case WBC?
(Or get a bicycle then you can ignore them all!! )

[On the edge]

changing lights from green to red just as cars approach is a well known traffic calming ploy.

I think you may well have hit on the answer. These lights are at the start of the Thatcham stretch of the A4. The 'ruling' LibDems are very proud of the calming measures they've instigated over the years along this very stretch. I can hear them now; muttering about boy racers and the like. So, raise as many complaints as you like, I'd put money on nothing happening.

[motormad]

I just speed up to get through them.

[desres123]

maybe they should treat the traffic lights like they do street lights at night turn them off

[Biker1]

maybe they should treat the traffic lights like they do street lights at night turn them off

That's one of the best suggestions I've heard on this forum for a long time!

[JeffG]

Or at least adopt the continental practice of just having flashing amber at off-peak times.

[spartacus]

I've been informed that there's a fault with the detector loop and that as the road will need to be partially closed so that the slots can be re-cut and repaired it may take another week.

[NWNREADER]

Or at least adopt the continental practice of just having flashing amber at off-peak times.

Can't possibly do anything like that - 'Not in the Manual'

[JeffG]

Can't possibly do anything like that - 'Not in the Manual'

Then revise the manual to bring it into line with the rest of Europe. (Except for priorité à droite, natch!)

[blackdog]

Then revise the manual to bring it into line with the rest of Europe. (Except for priorité à droite, natch!)

We would of course have priorité à gauche.

[JeffG]

We would of course have priorité à gauche.

Except on roundabouts of course!