The worst designed complex ever?

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bikeboyz
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The worst designed complex ever?

Post by bikeboyz »

You hear stories about little old ladies driving round the supermarket car parks the wrong way trying to open a packet of biscuits at the same time.... well I wonder who designes these car parks and road systems. I am starting to wonder if its Playmobile? they made jolly good roadmats when I was I kid.
I would like to nominate Castlepoint in Bournemouth as possibly the world's worst designed new complex. A car park supported by steel props to stop the upper level falling down. Netting running the entire length on the lower level to stop concreate falling on cars. The worst designed road layout EVER - which has been changed at least 3 times in a year.
The final part of my rant... is the entrance junction from the main road. Traffic lights, two lanes, the left hand goes straight on and also turn right. The right hand lane right only. Sounds simple, but 99% of the traffic take the right hand lane to turn right and then swerves across on to the left hand side.... time for the horn!
Is there a worse place????
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

Never been there but the retail place outside of Bexhill in east sussex has been mad recently. They are extending a bit of it but for some reason have decided to turn every parking space, of which there are I donno, 500? around by 90 degrees??? Doing it in phases and its a joke, no one has any idea where to drive etc. They have also put a bus stop in and 2 of the white lump in the road mini roundabouts which are so tight that I tried to drive around one without touching it at all and my bumper went over the curb...
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Post by uhn113x »

To expand on the theme, why do they site bus stops opposite junctions or just on them, or 10 yards from pelican crossings?
And, come to think of it, why do people park opposite junctions or bus stops?
Regarding traffic light sequence and lane design, the nearest ones to us have had three incarnations in the last two decades.
The first was the best: the junction is a normal crossroads with an 'all pedestrians' phase, and two phases for the traffic.
On one approach two marked lanes - RH for right turn, LH for straight on and left turn. Fine, except there was a left filter! [:0]
The shortlived sequel to this was making the pedestrian phase coincide with the left filter - at least one person crossing on green was knocked down by a car legitimately filtering left. [:(]
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Post by rossd »

The worst design has to be a supermarket carpark in Rye, East Sussex. The entrance/exit is on a one way system, except the entrance/exit is backwards, you turn right off the one way street and suddenly its like driving on the continent, you drive on the right! I can see the logic in the design, its so the exiting traffic doesnt have to cross the path of the entering traffic, but in reality its a total disaster. People who dont know the area well tend to come in on the (correct!) left hand side but the people who do know it come in on the right. Lots of nose to nose situations arise!!
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Post by s1zx »

I have always ready had a thing against those bus stops where it sticks out into the road blocking trafic especialy when some idiot puts it oposite a bust junction so it ends up blocking 3 directions of trafic at once. I personal hatred of mine is a small section of dual carrige way near leeds where if you are passing someone you come around a blind bend to find out your lane is turn right only with no warning. But no matter how careless and stupid road planners are they will never be able to beet the idiots who try to turn left across 2 clearly marked lanes of traffic or somehow drive on the rong side of the road for no reason coming out of a car park and end up causing a huge jam because they are to stupid to reverse or even realise they are on the wrong side of the road (traffic lights facing the wrong way are not a give away).
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Post by bxbodger »

I like the signposted "measured mile" on a stretch of dual carriageway near where my Nan lives in Keighley, Yorks: you do 60 to check your speedo accuracy , but theres not really enough time to stop safely for the roundabout at the end, so you have to start decellarating before the end of the mile- conversely, the other way, there's not enough distance, unless you're in a WRX or something, to get up to 60 before you hit it.
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Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bxbodger</i>

I like the signposted "measured mile" on a stretch of dual carriageway near where my Nan lives in Keighley, Yorks: you do 60 to check your speedo accuracy , but theres not really enough time to stop safely for the roundabout at the end, so you have to start decellarating before the end of the mile- conversely, the other way, there's not enough distance, unless you're in a WRX or something, to get up to 60 before you hit it.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Ah, yes, the one that goes past Marley. You do not have to do 60 to check your speedo - any speed will do!
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Post by oilyspanner »

My favourite recent treasure is the "Magic roundabout " in Swindon, it only needs a maypole in the middle and some ribbons, it is fairly safe though as drivers are so confused that speeds are invariably low.
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Post by John F »

How about the large roundabout in Hemel Hempsted with the 8 smaller ones spaced round it - bit like Swindon but very much older. I was carrying out service work at a large engineering company in the '70s and was expecting a German Service engineer to join me who had driven over from the Fatherland with some parts and tools and he couldn't get off for about 20 min. because of the two direction operation, his first time driving in the UK and his not being used to roundabouts. I always had to collect him from Heathrow after that.
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Post by bikeboyz »

The Magic Roundabout is a love hate thing! I think it works well, providing you stick to the rules of the roundabout, and know which direction your heading. If you don't know, and have to read the signs you can get confused.
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Post by Homer »

I'll nominate the numpties who redesigned the roundabout at J26 on the M62.
Coming eastbound from the M62 you have three lanes, the middle and right are labelled for the M606. If you take the right hand lane it takes you around the roundabout indefinately. Coming from the M606 and wanting to go to Halifax you have to join the Dewsbury lane (which is in the opposite direction) or cross four lanes of traffic in one swoop.
Locals know the flaws in the design but you will be lucky if one gives an inch to the poor stranded tourist who finds themself in the wrong lane.
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Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Homer</i>

I'll nominate the numpties who redesigned the roundabout at J26 on the M62.
Coming eastbound from the M62 you have three lanes, the middle and right are labelled for the M606. If you take the right hand lane it takes you around the roundabout indefinately. Coming from the M606 and wanting to go to Halifax you have to join the Dewsbury lane (which is in the opposite direction) or cross four lanes of traffic in one swoop.
Locals know the flaws in the design but you will be lucky if one gives an inch to the poor stranded tourist who finds themself in the wrong lane.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Locals are also the worst offenders for being in the wrong lane!
One of the problems with J26 is that when they changed the markings they did not completely remove the old ones from the previous attempt when they omitted any signs for the A638 northbound exit (!)
From the M62 westbound exit to the A638 there are two sets of markings - things are not helped by the 4 or 5 cars that go through red at the bottom of the M62 slip road[:(]
Do you pass this way often, Homer? I live 2 miles from J26.
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Post by Homer »

I live quite close, maybe 3 miles by road and work near the top of the M606 another junction recently b*gg**ed up - looks good on paper but no consideration has been given to how people will actually use it.
So, yes I use it quite often. Watch out for a dark green Xantia Estate, especially if the wife is driving, she doesn't take any prisoners.[B)] I also pass that way in a pink(ish) Xsara (because they pay me to[:I][:o)]) but don't often use the roundabout.
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Post by uhn113x »

Hi Homer
We have the makings of a local gathering here! Yep - the queues at the top of the M606 seem to be even longer since they redesigned Staygate. Watch out for a blue Dyane that uses 606 every day - that's my other half. I am usually in a fairly anonymous metallic green ZX.
Anyone else fancy a Northern meeting?
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Post by TomH »

I live in Bournemouth, and agree about the design of Castle Point. Infact it is basically a monster car park with a few shops attached. The layout on the upper floor is all over the place... angles, turns, mini roundabouts. The car park is massive, yet always full, (you have to queue for ages to get out!) and Castle lane blatantly can't cope with the amount of traffic at times. Widening it in places has not worked beause it narrows again in other places causing a bottleneck!
That lane bit you mention after the roundabout is one of two places I've ever felt need to use my horn, with some plonker cutting me up.
I also think the new layout further up the road by the hospital is shocking too. I hate this new trend to create extra lanes and then cut them down again after the traffic lights. There is a section where a lane disappears and all the traffic merges left at least one or two lanes, while other traffic is coming across right from a slip road.... dangerous!
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