This census was carried out on the A5 a few years ago and it caused chaos then. Statistics and trends in traffic movement have to be measured,but people still need to get to work,preferably on time. There must be another way.

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My wife & I were stuck in the tailback from this appallingly ill-considered census from just after 10:00am until 11:30am this morning.

When we reached the actual census point there were 5 people in hi-visability jackets just standing about at the side of the road. A few yards further on there were 3 other “organisers” sat chatting. NOBODY was actually gathering any information at all.

It is a total disgrace that this method of collecting “evidence” was even considered for an instant. There are ways & means of gathering data and this scheme showed a total disregard for the problems (and in many cases financial loss) it inevitably caused for the public.

Whoever sanctioned this scheme should feel as ashamed of themselves as the ivory-tower idiots who proposed it.

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Why are they only just collecting data for the business case? The relief road plan has been rolling for years. Surely day one, step one, would be to quantify the need.

Or is this the new council working out whether the old council’s ideas were as bonkers as everyone suspects?

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Apologise . Sack the stupid idiot. no gold plated pension no compensation.

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New council – same old thoughtless blunders.

Do the dim-wits at Dire Hall know how much they have cost the economy this morning? Not to mention all the additional polution they have caused. Oh, and of course add the ill-will from thousands of motorists.

Time for some cost savings on head-count front me thinks, starting with the dunderhead that organised this charade.

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Totally appalling, wasting our time, tax payers money and police time. The official that sanctioned this has to work in government or the council because there would be no place for them in the private sector. I don’t care if its going to throw of the census people should have notice just like road works. Luckily I saw this on the way to work and avoided it on the way back. These census people also setup traps on other roads to get those trying to avoid them

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They seem very capable of creating “average speed check zones” where the camera watches you enter a portion of road and watches you exit at a later time, so if they can do it to raise revenue through speed fines, why not use it to assist the public for once?

If this census was to see how many vehicles are going where, to determine the need for a relief road, they could easily have set a similar system up covering main routes in and main routes out.

That way, they’d have been able to get information on every car movement, showing where the vehicle entered and exited the check system and at what time. That way, they would have got a more revealing survey, a more accurate survey and a means of showing flow rates at different times.

“Data protection act” nonsense would not have come into the equation because the data (number plates) collected could have been stripped of one or two figures so as to not actually identify the vehicles’ owners.

TrafficMaster (and even the government itself) use exactly this type of system using those blue or turquoise posts at the side of the road, or on bridges, to measure road delays – they identify a vehicle’s last few number plate digits and measure the time that it takes to go between one post and another to calculate any delays. There’s a minor statistical error where the last digits of a car may be the same as another’s but there’s no invasion of privacy, (although the government system has the capability to be changed to full readings at a later date if required), and plenty of traffic information.

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A 15 minute journey ended up taking me over an hour to complete and costing me due to lost earnings !!!

Why are people being forced to take part in these data gathering exercises and why are they being run during the morning and evening rush hour traffic causing numerous problems for th elocal residents. There has been a serious lacking of thought put into this !!

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For once I had the good fortune not to be caught in the tailbacks but I have been caught during previous “necessary” and “essential” information gathering censuses on this stretch of road. Now call me cynical but are we not in the 21st century with wealth of technology available. The use of this type of census – particularly on busy main roads – is wholly unecessary and poorly considered. The inconvenience caused to commuters, employers, employees, business and the local economy is immeasureable. Not to mention those who work at or were urgently visiting the hospitals at Copthorne, Shelton or Oswestry. I hope such is not the case but how awful would it be if a relative missed the birth of a child or the death of a loved one all because this census needed to be done. Utterly shameful, self centred, and ill considered by the powers that be. Just because they feel they need information doesn’t mean they should be allowed to inconvenience and in some cases cause distress to so many. I can provide the information free of charge…it’s a busy route and a relief road might help. Now, before you embark upon another hare brained census, do some proper planning and try and consider the needs of the people you claim to be planning for.

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Another stupid idea from Shropshire County Council, lets hold the traffic up even more on one of the main roads into Shrewsbury at rush hour, complete morons. Do these people have any ideas how busy this road gets when there are two lanes available. Bit more thought next time please.

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MadMax, I was stopped and it was indeed the police who were telling people to stop.

APNR, The information they collected could not have been achieved by using monitoring equipment like they do with average speed checks. They asked for origin post code and destination post code.

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#18 – you’re right!!!

Why answer the questions – if most people didn’t they’d soon get the message.

Personally, I wouldn’t even bother winding the window down.

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Yes, it’s happened before and it’ll happen again…..same goldfish, same bowl but still no brains from our council “officers?”

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