Traffic surveys begin in town

Monday 12th October 2009, 9:19AM BST.

Traffic surveycensus

Motorists were today being pulled over in Telford as a huge traffic census got under way.

Small pockets of traffic built up on roads but there appears to have been no serious disruption to work journeys.

The surveys are being carried out on all the town’s major roads over the next couple of weeks by Telford & Wrekin Council.

Road bosses say the results will be used to update information and help plan and manage the transport system.

Councillor Stephen Bentley, for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “The surveys will be carried out during October and November at a number of roadside locations across Telford and also at car parks, bus stations and key bus stops.

“These will involve survey staff asking people a few questions about their journey. Traffic flows and volumes will also be monitored by automatic traffic counters and trained staff”

He said the surveys would cause minimum disruption but some delays could occur.

“The council cannot provide advance notice of the times and location where the surveys will be taking place as this may affect people’s travel arrangements and results, which would not then be representative of normal travel patterns.” he said.

“We are highlighting these surveys in a bid to inform as many people as possible about what is happening.”


  1. 1
    brian2

    “plan and manage the transport system”…are they actually going to start doing that then?…Or just keep making a pig’s ear of it as usual.

    Report abuse

  2. 2
    Captain Commonsense

    So let me get this right – the buffoons who have imposed upon on us the masterpieces of Trench Lock, Ketley Brook, The Lawley crossroads, the EP which now has one lane and a reduce accidents sign against which there was an accident, the contra flow system around the town centre and of course the famous “drain pipes sticking out of the road” at Old Park are conducting a survey to see what we need in the future.

    On what did they base the above messes – or are they a mess because they based them on nothing but a desire to turn a town built for the car into a town not fit for the car.

    Allow me to save us, the long suffering tax payers, a lot of money.

    What we need are roads upon which traffic can flow freely with unneccesary hinderances such as traffic lights, junctions, and drain pipe in the road.

    The best thing for all of us would be for this shower of fools to leave Telford as it was designed and not to interfer with a system that works.

    Without exception, everything they have changed so far has been a retrograde step, has cost a fortune and has increased the number of accidents around the town. Do us all a favour and abandon your survey and stay at home.

    Incidentally, if you are stopped as part of this survey you must stop if signalled to do so by the police but you do not have to give them any information.

    My approached, and I recommend it to everyone, will be to list all their failures to date and ask them, nicely of course, to leave our town alone!!

    Report abuse

  3. 3
    askeric dotcom

    Have they learn’t nothing from the last traffic census /farce held on end of the A5 dual carriageway recently?

    I really don’t see the need for any of this.

    We aleady know how many cars/vehicles there are, we can find out how many cars pass along any stretch of road WITHOUT stopping anyone. – vehicles don’t just dissapear – they all go.
    somehwere! – So, it can’t be THAT difficult to work out what road facilities are needed from information already “visible”-

    I really do object to the idea that we need to stop people and ask questions!

    We don’t expect (or like/want to be stopped whilst on foot) – and being in a vehicle in my opinion is NO different, (unless you are breaking the law).

    This sort of intrusion into peoples lives has got to stop.

    Report abuse

  4. 4
    andy

    I was lucky this morning on my daily commute from Gnosall to Telford, i spotted the traffic queuing up on the A518 in time to catch the wellington road turning by lilleshall… Glad i did, saved me being sat in a queue for a pointless reason ending up me being late for work…as i’m sure i would not have been able to recover my loses from them.

    Report abuse

  5. 5
    Lucy W

    Do you have to stop for this?

    Is there Ethnic Monitoring to make sure that no ethnic group is being disproportionately stopped?

    And just what do they need to ask the drivers that they don’t already know?

    Do you have the right to remain silent?

    Is this a breach of Human Rights?

    What if you are bursting for the loo or some other medical emergency and can’t stop?

    Report abuse

  6. 6
    Y Mab Darogan

    Lucy W – You should always go the toilet before you make any long journeys (tchhh)

    Report abuse

  7. 7
    askeric dotcom

    I have been SERIOUSLY delayed this morning due to a traffic census.

    I REALLY object to this.

    I’m sick of being snooped on just becuase some authority somewhere thinks it”s their business to know something about my journey.
    It’s MY business and NO-ONE elses!

    Now – who do I send my invoice to for wasted time this morning?

    Report abuse

  8. 8
    Y Mab Darogan

    askeric dotcom – Everyone’s business should be monitered by the state. It makes for a safer and more law abiding society. Embrace the change our country is undergoing and realize we are all at one with the state.

    Report abuse

  9. 9
    Big Matty

    askeric dotcom said:
    Now – who do I send my invoice to for wasted time this morning?

    I will tell you where!… NOWHERE… it wont reach its destination anyway because the over paid and rather comfortable Royal Mail staff are once again due to be holding their employers to ransom….

    Report abuse

  10. 10
    Lucy W

    I don’t know why every car isn’t fitted with a GPS tracker. Insurance companies tried this a few years ago with pay-as-you-drive insurance, but for some reason it didn’t catch on.

    Surely if every car’s CPU had a build in GPS with say a three month memory, this would solve alot of problems?

    My car once recorded me as putting it into reverse gear at 80mph at a specified mileage (I had forgot I didn’t have a 6th gear). Why can’t we just go that step further and allow the authorities easy access to this data?

    Report abuse

  11. 11
    Tory Boy

    we must never allow the council to spy on us or stop us driving when and where we like, it is a god given right to drive, the Eu or the socialists on the council cannot be allowed, we should not let these beurocrats on gold plated pensions count our cars, all these functions should be privatised ASAP, and the council workers must all be sacked to help reduce taxes and clear up clown browns debt

    Report abuse

  12. 12
    Tory Boy

    i hate the council spying on use when were driving, i blame the EU

    Report abuse

  13. 13
    Y Mab Darogan

    Tory Boy – I wholeheartenly agree with you – the TORY led/run council of T & W should not be allowed to spy on people. Get ready for more of the same if the Tories gain power at the next election

    Report abuse

  14. 14
    GPBH

    “we must never allow the council to spy on us or stop us driving when and where we like”

    Yeah thats why the people who smashed up a car on my street in the daylight today got away with it.. Because the Telford Police Force are sitting at every road causing delays! I think both the police & council in telford should be re-thought! but heh we will need a 5 hour survey each for that to happen wont we? God these people are so dumb!

    Report abuse

  15. 15
    PUBLIC SECTOR HATER

    DONT TRUST THEM

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  16. 16
    winja

    But, Mab, the council highways dept (as both myself, and another contributor on here has found out) merely act upon directives issued by the govt.

    State sponsored snooping into the private lives of its citizens, and the sanctioning and needless criminalisation thereof, are core values of the red party. Unless, of course, one believes the spin.

    Report abuse

  17. 17
    Grey

    Instead of complaining about delays and state snooping why not take the opportunity to tell them exactly what you think should be done to the roads to improve them. That is what these surveys are for, to help inform the Local Transport Plan etc.

    Report abuse

  18. 18
    Captain Commonsense

    Grey

    Nice idea of yours but wake up and smell the coffee.

    These buffoons do not and will not listen to any form of commonsense only to the primary objective of causing congestion and generating cost for the taxpayer.

    The only way to treat these people is with contempt – that way they will get a message!!

    Redundancy is what this lot need.

    Report abuse

  19. 19
    RON

    Y Mab Darogan
    spot on about Toryboy, who seems to have forgotten or didnt know that Telfords council is Tory controlled, unless he thinks they are infact socalists.. Carry on making a fool of yourself ToryBoy, Perhaps you can explain David Wilshire’s expenses claims over £100,000 of which he put into his and his partners private business over a course of 3 years, and i seem to recall telling us that the Torys were the clean party :)

    Report abuse

  20. 20
    Grey

    Ha ha, I guess I’m just too much of an optimist for this website.

    Report abuse

  21. 21
    Brian2

    Grey,

    How long did you say you have lived here?

    Captain Commonsense is right, how often have T and W Highways dept done anything that local road users wanted….answer….NEVER!

    Report abuse

  22. 22
    winja

    What bloody good would it do to voice my opinions and objections concerning the continual butchery of Telford’s roads to a load of roadside Wombles?

    An official FoI request to council towers regarding the speed limit reduction on Redhill Way and Donnington Wood way, and any correlating accidents, has so far yielded zip. Nada. NOTHING.

    Report abuse



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