Stourport stuff

Traffic was unpleasant this morning, with the apparent cause simply being some excess traffic from Kidderminster. We really do need either a cross-hatch or better timing or both at the Minster Road lights.

As I've not mentioned them yet the newly laid roads seem to holding up well for the time being, but we've gained a pothole on the OGL island on the right-turn coming from Gilgal. I don't recall any precursor signs it's poof as if by magic a pothole appeared.

I think I mentioned that the new brick welcome sign on the Dunley Road had lost its rear goodbye, but I've also noticed that the same has occurred to the one on the Worcester Road so perhaps my comment that these were a bit pointless has reached someone's ears. Either that or the first one just fell off or got nicked and someone removed the other for consistency's sake.

[Update - 9/1: Just to make me look stupid the one on Worcester Road is back up]

I'm debating whether to write to the council about the possibility of getting some arrows added at the end of York Street on the other side of the pedestrian crossing. At the same time I might mention painting a lane divider down the street too, but as I've mentioned several times doing so would highlight the merging problem at the other end with the new parking bays so I won't hold my breath on that.

I could also be pedantic and point out that for the majority of traffic coming from Lion Hill they should be staying in the (non-existent) right-hand lane therefore both sets of directional signs are on the wrong side of the road.

While I'm at it I could also point out the lack of notice of lane merging at Minster Road and the Minster Road/Stourport Road lights. With traffic powering up from Vale Road the only indication that the road switches from two lanes to one is a painted arrow; hardly a hardship at an enforced 30mph, but the nasty one is at the lights at the other end which is a deregulated dual-carriageway that switches to a single lane after a set of traffic lights. Traffic powering past a queue here may find they suddenly have to merge at 70mph into much slower moving traffic. I say may I've seen cars having to either slam on their brakes or continue up the 'middle' hatched lane. I find this doubly ironic as, I've previously mentioned, signs into Stourport warning of a non-existent lane merge/close have been put up starting here.

Then again perhaps it's best to do it one at time so as not to overwhelm them ;-)