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Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 11 2012, 01:05 PM

A lot cheaper than having a system that means some don't have to wait for up to 20 minutes...



http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2012/posters-in-bid-to-reduce-pollution-at-thatcham-level-crossing

Posted by: On the edge Jun 11 2012, 01:09 PM

Thank you Andy!!

Can we also have a few big screens alongside as well showing films etc to ease our pent up frustration?

Posted by: andy1979uk Jun 11 2012, 01:58 PM

Pointless in my opinion

Posted by: x2lls Jun 11 2012, 02:00 PM

Posters should be used at Woolhampton on the a4, as the damned traffic lights at the roadworks were stuck on red both ways AGAIN this morning!!

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 11 2012, 02:06 PM

Yes, I noticed that coming back from Reading late the other night. I bet they are a cheaper design.

Posted by: x2lls Jun 11 2012, 02:22 PM

I cannot understand why many drivers just sit in their cars with the engine running.
I have always switched off if I wait for more than a couple of minutes with no foreseeable movement.

Just the other day, I went into the Onestop in Avon Way. There was someone outside waiting for someone shopping. I was at least ten minutes being served (one assistant, many customers). On exit, the driver was still sat there chugging away. The shopper appeared just after I got into my car. A total waste of fuel/generating unnecessary polution.

Posted by: On the edge Jun 11 2012, 03:11 PM

Quite so, was being ironic, will explain... ....on second thoughts

Posted by: Penelope Jun 11 2012, 03:33 PM

Was it another 'pointless' post?

Posted by: andy1979uk Jun 11 2012, 03:44 PM

Nope a valid post, but the public are stupid so if you need to tell the to turn their engines off then they prob won't understand why.

Posted by: Nothing Much Jun 11 2012, 03:56 PM

Just for fun and a direction back to the Eastern Bypass thought and gravel pits.
I have twigged some of Benyon's roads.
There are roads called Mortimer, Ufton, and Englefield...( He puffs).
ce

Posted by: Timbo Jun 11 2012, 04:09 PM

You don't like the "public" at all do you?

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 11 2012, 04:22 PM

Posted by: andy1979uk Jun 11 2012, 04:31 PM

Not all of them no, they irritate me

Posted by: Nothing Much Jun 11 2012, 04:40 PM

Sorry Andy Capp every road in another neck of the woods is owned by
Benyon Estates. About a bus pass away They are all Berkshire names.
Ufton,Mortimer and Englefield. Without looking or walking about I would expect others.
ce

Posted by: Nothing Much Jun 11 2012, 04:46 PM

And I got accused of being boring. Still the weather is terrible.
So that is normal for English.
ce

Posted by: Baffers100 Jun 11 2012, 06:07 PM

If you have a modern car and you switch off the ignition when the engine is not up to temperature you can flood the engine. (At least that's what happened to me when I moved the car off the drive to hoover it- apparently it is something to do with cutting down on co2 emissions?)

On the poster front- absolutely pathetic. If they're that concerned about pollution build us a ******** bridge then I just have to spend hours a month waiting for the barriers to go up!

Posted by: Timbo Jun 11 2012, 07:01 PM

Only certain cars such as Mazda RX8's and a few other cars.

I agree with your last point about the bridge.

Posted by: user23 Jun 11 2012, 07:27 PM

Posters = a few hundred quid, no disruption
Building a new bridge = a few million quid and months of disruption

Posted by: Timbo Jun 11 2012, 07:46 PM

But think of the carbon atoms...

Posted by: Strafin Jun 11 2012, 08:03 PM

I see a lot of cars idling whilst stationary, when they are clearly not going anywhere soon. It really bugs me.

Posted by: Berkshirelad Jun 11 2012, 08:10 PM

In the wet - like today - it will immediately steam up unless the HVAC is kept running. On hot days - only occasional, I know - you need the HVAC to keep you cool; especially so if you have had to stop in direct sunshine On cold days, again, you will need to keep HVAC running to keep the car warm and defrosted.

Also, to turn over a cold engine requires upwards of 150 Amps from the battery - it can only do that a few times before going flat.

Cars fitted with start/stop technology work quite differently - to start with, the engine is turned over differently from the usual starter motor/ring gear method.

Posted by: Strafin Jun 11 2012, 08:14 PM

Rubbish! Cars without AC do OK all the time, and you only need to start your car once and then the alternator starts charging your battery again.

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 11 2012, 08:25 PM

When I use the road, I can handle a couple of minutes wait. The nuisance is not knowing how long the barriers will be down. If you knew it would be 20 minutes, one could seek an alternative route. The problem seems to be the gravel train and the slow trains from Newbury.

Then there's the location for the car parks. I don't think a worse train station design could be made if it was done deliberately; coupled with the entrance/exit for the industrial estate. It's a cluster f***.

Posted by: Nothing Much Jun 11 2012, 08:48 PM

Is there a Benyon plot?
The problem seems to be the gravel train
ce

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 11 2012, 09:10 PM

Makes me laugh how they do this and yet you have to go all the way down to the Swan Roundabout and back up the hill to get to the tip.
Now that's pollution for no reason.
A right turn with lights or a roundabout would save it all.

Posted by: Timbo Jun 11 2012, 09:14 PM

I think practically, on that road how it's currently set up is the best way. It's annoying, I admit, because I actually went to the tip tonight and experienced just that. However it's a 50mph road which is very busy especially in rush hour, it would not be good for traffic flow, would cause accidents and congestions, IMO.

Posted by: JeffG Jun 11 2012, 09:17 PM

I'm just wondering what the difference in pollution would be between driving down to the roundabout and back up, and idling at a red traffic light waiting to turn right. I was going to say swings and roundabouts, but that would be too much like a pun.

Posted by: x2lls Jun 11 2012, 09:20 PM

Exactly, a bit of understanding of the mechanics of the motor car!!!

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 11 2012, 09:22 PM

There is already a roundabout at the retail park and another at the Swan.
And traffic lights at the college.
What difference would another make to traffic flow / congestion?

Posted by: blackdog Jun 11 2012, 09:31 PM

It's not actually a gravel train - it takes agregate from quarries in Somerset up to some ginormous depot in London for road repairs etc.

Posted by: Timbo Jun 11 2012, 11:11 PM

Have you ever had to stop at the traffic lights during rush hour? It causes quite large tailbacks for the short time period.

And uhhhhhh maybe the fact that one road then takestwo seperate directions, a roundabout is perhaps a good idea in those situations...?

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 08:56 AM

Don't be condescending with that silly "uhhhhhhh" remark.There is no need for that, it makes you look the stupid one because you cannot co-ordinate your reply without insult.
The road takes a separate direction at the tip also - to the tip!!.

Posted by: Timbo Jun 12 2012, 09:09 AM

Hmm, no I just type exactly how I talk!
The difference is that the tip is not a major (or infact a minor) route.

By that logic every single junction should have traffic lights or a roundabout... eg houses, car dealerships...

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 12 2012, 09:34 AM

Putting lights or roundabout in will also cause traffic to stop on a rise which isn't ideal either, although I'm confused how we got to the tip after starting at Thatcham station!

By the way, with Sandleford almost in the bag, I can imagine the Thatcham situation getting worse.

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 10:03 AM

And the tip!

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 10:06 AM

OK I see your point.
I still think the volume of traffic to the tip warrants an exception due to the length and terrain of having to go to the Swan and back.
Anyway, back to the unsolvable (due to cost) problem of Thatcham crossing which was built back in the days of minimal road traffic and now has an issue due to the by-pass being built on the wrong side of Newbury.
The council can't afford a bridge
Network Rail are not interested because it doesn't affect them and there is no incentive for a private developer to contribute.
Yet another by-pass needed?
Told you so comes to mind.

Posted by: andy1979uk Jun 12 2012, 10:11 AM

takes about a minute to goto the roundabout and back again ?

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 10:12 AM

We are talking about pollution and damage to the environment here on this thread, not time taken!!

Posted by: Timbo Jun 12 2012, 11:50 AM

Fair enough.
p.s it's good we came to an agreement.

Although I think overall the solution in place is the right one. The compromise would be to add a middle section for right turns only but this would be abused and still cause people to slam their brakes on.

A bigger problem with pollution would be at night where the traffic lights stop you for 2 minutes while no-one is coming. The lights should default to the main flow (eg on Hambridge Road crossroads, the A4/London Roads would remain green at all times from say 11pm-6am unless a car triggered an alternate sensor. And it should skip the sequence to allow that side the rights to go rather than cycle through 3 different light combinations to let some non-existent traffic through.

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 11:55 AM

This happens all over the country.
Many traffic lights could be switched off outside peak hours to save pollution.

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 12 2012, 11:57 AM

I'm thinking of perhaps we should start to disrupt the rail service, for often it seems that it is the antiquated method of opening and losing the gates that is half the problem.

It seems a few miles is enough for a train doing 70 mph or more, but the same distance is need for a slow train leaving Newbury station, or whatever.

Posted by: Biker1 Jun 12 2012, 12:15 PM

That seems OK ................Oh, unless you happen to be a train traveller!


Trains leaving Newbury, next stop Thatcham, take around 4-5 minutes to get past the gates from when they close.
Slow trains from Newbury stopping at the Racecourse do not get the gates lowered until they have left the Racecourse station - about the same length of time again.
I think the problem is that it is a busy line in peak hours (the same times as most want to travel by car) and the gates remain down until all approaching trains have passed. If there are several trains then the gates stay down and this is when people have the prolonged waits.
Solution??
Let's face it, at any level crossing (Thatcham is not unique) there is a conflict of traffic flow.
Someone is always going to get delayed. Safety dictates that trains get priority.
As I have said previously, who is going to fund a bridge?

Posted by: x2lls Jun 12 2012, 12:44 PM

Like ensure the trains run on time?

Posted by: Berkshirelad Jun 12 2012, 04:24 PM

The mechanics are simple; it's the electrics that you need to worry about!

I drive a 2 litre automatic. On a wet morning, with the AC (or even just the heater fan) on; the HRW on: the wipers on and the headlights on,plus all the other electronic gubbins controlling the engine/gearbox, etc. then the alternator is just about coping with the load; there is very little spare capacity to re-charge the battery.

I can't be bothered to go into the math now, but it is fairly easy to work out the current load on the alternator.

Posted by: Andy Capp Jun 12 2012, 04:34 PM

Sometimes one is left waiting more than a couple of minutes for one or more train. I was kept waiting for about 12 minutes for one gravel train and one slow train once. The barriers could have comfortably gone up for about a minute and still been safe I think. I sometimes see the barriers go up then down with in a matter of 15 seconds, but even that can ease the wait for some.

Posted by: x2lls Jun 13 2012, 12:08 AM

So you always drive with all that on? That would be the exception rather than the rule.
Besides, if you are at a standstill, switch it all off to preserve charge and reduce polution as best you can.

Posted by: Rach E Jun 13 2012, 04:29 PM

Can you remember the colour and/or make of the car by any chance?#paranoia

Posted by: x2lls Jun 13 2012, 09:06 PM

fraid not, I just looked at the driver as I walked past thinking what an idiot he was.