Bradford city centre road among most congested in country (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Rush-hour average speed among the lowest in country outside London
6:00am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News
By Kathie Griffiths, T&A Reporter
Traffic caught up in a rush-hour tailback in Godwin Street
One of Britain’s worst congested roads outside London is in Bradford city centre, a survey has revealed.
The study says morning rush-hour drivers along Godwin Street move at an average of 17.75 miles an hour between 8am and 9am, making it ninth out of the worst ten roads in terms of traffic speeds.
While the worst of the snails’ pace journeys are in London, other nightmare spots for car drivers included Skipton Road in Harrogate, where 1.5mph is the average.
RAM Tracking managing director Chris McClellan, whose company came up with the findings to help motorists know exactly where they should steer clear of, said: “Our research revealed what a phenomenal amount of time many business drivers waste when travelling during the breakfast rush-hour.”
RAM’s data covered more than 440,000 individual journeys in February this year, comparing distance travelled during the rush-hour commute of 8am to 9am with the later time of 11am to noon.
The survey found that by mid-morning the average speed goes up to 24.9mph – an increase of 41 per cent.
Godwin Street runs from the junction of Prince’s Way and Thornton Road past the empty TJ Hughes department building though a series of traffic lights, then towards Greenwood’s Menswear and round the back of the Kirkgate Centre.
Traders there say rush-hour never seems to end with a continual stream of traffic passing their businesses throughout the day.
Pauline Bean, manageress of Earnshaws shoe shop, said constant traffic was a problem, and said many drivers go too fast when the jams end.
She said: “Rush hour never ends – it goes right on throughout the day.
“Cars just fly down here like idiots. They need to do something to slow them down. I don’t think just under 18mph is that slow at all for that time of day.”
Council principal engineer Darren Badrock said: “Godwin Street is only 250 metres long, and an average speed of 17.6mph in such a location is not unexpected, particularly at peak times."
Comments(17)
webess
says...
8:23am Thu 21 Mar 13
The Romans managed to build decent roads 2,000 years ago, it's really not that difficult..
schroeder
says...
8:28am Thu 21 Mar 13
angry bradfordian wrote:"Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!"
Why does the council always have an excuse for everything? There must be hundreds of 250m long in city centres all over Britain and Godwin street in is the top 10. Surely that must mean a problem, especially when we keep being told that Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!
That's not true at all. Bradford may have a large unemployment rate, but it also has a higher population than most other cities.
Thousands are employed in the city centre, so it's not a shock to me that this short stretch of road gets so congested at peak times.
Truth77
says...
9:18am Thu 21 Mar 13
Grumpygirl
says...
9:54am Thu 21 Mar 13
schroeder wrote:It's not a shock to me either. so it shouldn't really have come as news to the gentleman in Highways. However, as we know, Council policy is that traffic in Bradford is decreasing and that therefore there aren't any problems.
angry bradfordian wrote:"Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!"
Why does the council always have an excuse for everything? There must be hundreds of 250m long in city centres all over Britain and Godwin street in is the top 10. Surely that must mean a problem, especially when we keep being told that Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!
That's not true at all. Bradford may have a large unemployment rate, but it also has a higher population than most other cities.
Thousands are employed in the city centre, so it's not a shock to me that this short stretch of road gets so congested at peak times.
Twits! When are they going to get up off their complacent behinds and do something about the congestion? Driving in Bradford during the peak hours is always a nightmare and it must be a huge disincentive to inward investment.
wobbley-bob
says...
10:02am Thu 21 Mar 13
schroeder
says...
10:03am Thu 21 Mar 13
Truth77 wrote:It's the main route INTO Bradford actually.
Its the main route out of Bradford, Is it any wonder its busy
Andy Mac
says...
10:13am Thu 21 Mar 13
Brannigan
says...
10:36am Thu 21 Mar 13
Andy Mac wrote:Yes and signing on times in the dole office should be staggered to stop the limo drivers congesting the place.
I agree with Schroeder, thousands are employed in the City Centre, a couple of hundred of them even employed legally.
Makes it they easier for the mobile drugs dealers though - they can just deal as they drive along slowly. A drugs drive-through!!
Not so simple
says...
11:11am Thu 21 Mar 13
schroeder
says...
11:44am Thu 21 Mar 13
Not so simple wrote:yeah, maybe.... *rolls eyes*
I thought that busy, overcrowded city centres bustling with trade had traffic issues....maybe it's the people of Bradford just driving around to make the city look busy!
Biggus Dickus
says...
11:45am Thu 21 Mar 13
schroeder wrote:Lol, i think that one went straight over Schroeder`s head !
Truth77 wrote:It's the main route INTO Bradford actually.
Its the main route out of Bradford, Is it any wonder its busy
Prisoner Cell Block A
says...
12:03pm Thu 21 Mar 13
schroeder wrote:It is one of the routes INTO and OUT of Bradford.
Truth77 wrote:It's the main route INTO Bradford actually.
Its the main route out of Bradford, Is it any wonder its busy
Of course traffic will be slow, there are a series of traffic lights along the stretch, before the stretch and beyond it. Large volume of traffic being contained between lights can only move to the next set where they once again get contained, this reduces once the vehicles reach their destination, none of it needed a report or a news article, it is traffic.
A report into how and why Tong Street is slow and static all day would be more useful, especially considering the money spent to attempt to reduce this.
basil fawlty
says...
2:21pm Thu 21 Mar 13
What the Council should be doing is making Bradford a car friendly city so that it stands out against Leeds. They need a plan to improve the roads into and around the city centre and also get rid of as many parking restrictions as possible so people are tempted to shop here more.
Colin Allcars
says...
7:52pm Thu 21 Mar 13
If only the able bodied paid to park, rather than avoid it by parking in disabled or ambulance bays
Steve30d
says...
9:57pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Grumpygirl wrote:It probably didn't surpise Highway's man because that's his job/what he's trained to do. Pehaps he finds it bit difficult to get the councilors to accept his ideas- despite his being employed to figure it. Consider how much difficulty the general public have in get the council to change it's mind. How much effect could you have on getting your boss to change their mind.
schroeder wrote:It's not a shock to me either. so it shouldn't really have come as news to the gentleman in Highways. However, as we know, Council policy is that traffic in Bradford is decreasing and that therefore there aren't any problems.
angry bradfordian wrote:"Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!"
Why does the council always have an excuse for everything? There must be hundreds of 250m long in city centres all over Britain and Godwin street in is the top 10. Surely that must mean a problem, especially when we keep being told that Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!
That's not true at all. Bradford may have a large unemployment rate, but it also has a higher population than most other cities.
Thousands are employed in the city centre, so it's not a shock to me that this short stretch of road gets so congested at peak times.
Twits! When are they going to get up off their complacent behinds and do something about the congestion? Driving in Bradford during the peak hours is always a nightmare and it must be a huge disincentive to inward investment.
Am sure he does the best he can in difficult conditions.
There could be rules/regs to stop such, but might it possible to allow the professionally trained council employes to speak up a little more? I be more reasured the council had some idea what they were doing if they could let the true experts in an aspect of what the council does speak, rather than having councils put spin on it/cutting the experts short.
An example which for once isn't to do with Bradford council but another council,-a uni friend of mine ended up working in a housing office, and was ask to write a blurb explaining to council tenants what heat pumps were and why they were best . Not understanding how they worked and rather than blagging it she asked around if anyone else could explain it to her. I tried my best to explain to her "like a fridge in reverse. instead of having the hot bit at the back of the fridge and the cold bit inside, hot bit inside the house, cold bit outsude ". "Oh no" her boss said "that won't be acceptable, the tenents can't really be told how they work because they not engineers so won't understand, and that would put them of having them put in. Their opinions simply don't matter. They'll be having them put in regardless"
Based on what evidence I ask? Sure that's not a cover for old fashioned sterotyping?
Let the people most qualified to speak, speak on problems, and we'll get far less of the blagging that leads to problems.
HarisF1
says...
5:42am Fri 22 Mar 13
That must be a typo. 1.75 mph sounds better for a congested road.
angry bradfordian says...
7:29am Thu 21 Mar 13
There must be hundreds of 250m long in city centres all over Britain and Godwin street in is the top 10.
Surely that must mean a problem, especially when we keep being told that Bradford has far less people employed than other cities!