The new signalised Wyke Road junction with Boot Hill is being switched on today, and will be open again to two-way traffic.
The Rodwell Avenue junction is programmed to go live at the start of March.
Tags: junction improvements, Wyke Road
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Weymouth Transport Package for the 2012 Games 
February 18, 2011 at 2:54 pm |
Please could you explain the temporary traffic lights on the junction between Rodwell Avenue and Rodwell Road. They seem to be 3-way lights (one direction goes at a time). But I can see no reason why both ways on Rodwell Road couldn’t be green at the same time. There are no roadworks in the road itself which would make it any narrower, and this is causing more delays.
February 22, 2011 at 4:44 pm |
Hi Paul,
When the junction is switched on, the new signals will operate as you describe.
The issue with allowing two-way traffic to flow within the temporary lights is that there would be no facility for a right filter arrow from Rodwell Road into Rodwell Avenue.
Without this function the junction would become blocked with no way for right turning traffic to clear.
We appreciate that the temporary signals are causing delays and we have been manually controlling them during peak traffic to try and help traffic flows.
February 18, 2011 at 6:24 pm |
Tell me again, what was wrong with the mini-roundabout?
And doesn’t the new no right-turn from Wyke Road create extra traffic on other roads?
February 22, 2011 at 4:45 pm |
Hi Lucy,
The new Wyke Road signals have allowed controlled pedestrian crossings to be installed across both Rodwell Road and Wyke Road, it has also increased the amount of traffic that can move through the junction.
The banned right turn from Wyke Road onto Rodwell Road was not a very popular movement. It is expected that that the local traffic that used to do this will use Portland Road or one of the local roads such as Cross Road.
February 22, 2011 at 1:11 pm |
There’s nowhere to comment on the new fire station junction. I should imagine that by now most people have had the opportunity to experience it at least once or twice.
I’m surprised WPBC isn’t charging for it actually because the thing it most reminds me of is a switchback or roller coaster. You know something that is designed deliberately to scare and create uncertainty. It does an excellent job of rendering even the most sophisticated modern suspension unstable too. That’s what you need for thrills and spills isn’t it?
It’s a complete shambles, terribly dangerous and a disaster waiting to happen. After all the delay and disruption it is much. much worse than it ever was before.
It needs to be flattened and you need to start again. Before that though, heads need to roll. This is a disgrace and an even worse result than anyone could possibly have imagined.
February 22, 2011 at 10:25 pm |
Can you clarify if the new junction at the top of Rodwell Avenue is going to be pedestrian controlled? There are dropped kerbs in the right places and markings on the road to indicate where to cross, but as yet there are no push button boxes and it looks as if the installation work has finished on the junction.
February 24, 2011 at 12:04 pm |
Hi Ian,
The pedestrian crossings at the Rodwell Avenue junction won’t be controlled with a pushbutton.
The only way to provide controlled/pushbutton crossings would be to close the hotel access and provide a new one to the north, which would require land purchase.
This is because the current access for the hotel is within the controlled area of the junction, which would cause a potential danger to pedestrians while crossing.
February 24, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Will there at least be an indication when it is safe for pedestrians to cross the road?
February 24, 2011 at 3:23 pm |
Hi Ian,
The crossings are as they have always been – uncontrolled – so unfortunately there will be no signalised indication of when it is safe to cross.
Tactile paving has been put in to indicate where it is best to cross the road, and it allows for a future upgrade to a controlled crossing should the land issues be resolved.
February 25, 2011 at 7:30 am
I’m a little confused about the reason for not having a push button control on the junction or at least a green pedestrian notification.
How is the hotel access any different to Franchise Street and Rodwell Street going directly onto a controlled crossing at the top of Boot Hill? Both these roads are not controlled directly by lights so vehicles are free to go anytime regardless of people using the junction.
The top of Rodwell Avenue is a dangerous place to cross as pedestrians (especially with kids and bikes in tow) are unaware which traffic lane may be on a green. It seems strange to put in drop kerbs and crossing marks on the road when pedestrians still need to guess the best time to cross.
Is the land issue currently active or a possible future plan?
February 28, 2011 at 11:23 am |
Hi Ian,
The Franchise Street and Rodwell Street access is not within the controlled area – they sit on the ‘right’ side of the stop line so are still controlled by any red light for vehicles.
I should have been a bit clearer; the hotel access is within the controlled area (where there is no traffic when a pedestrian crossing is active) – vehicles exiting the car park would be unaware of pedestrians having right of way.
One of the constraints of this scheme was that no land could be purchased, however, the land issue remains a possible future plan.
February 28, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Thanks for taking the time to answer, but I thought the firestation carpark entrance is within the controlled area at the new junction?
February 28, 2011 at 2:45 pm |
Hi Ian,
Well spotted.
We have liaised with the fire station and asked that they have a one-way system through their car park so that vehicles exit onto North Quay.
The large deliveries that need to exit out onto the junction do not present a danger as the crossings are stand alone – with stop lines and red signals facing traffic exiting the junction.
The reason this wasn’t addressed in the design of the scheme is due to the station moving to Radipole Lane this summer.
February 23, 2011 at 3:33 pm |
Can you tell me how to go up Wyke Road or Chickerell Road from Rodwell Avenue? You can’t go through Brewers Quay to get to the bottom of Boot Hill and I don’t see how you can go down Boot Hill and make a turn to come back up (as you would have done when the roundabout was there. Of course it didn’t occur in the past as you could turn left into Wyke Road or Chickerell Road.)
February 24, 2011 at 12:25 pm |
Hi Maureen,
To get onto Wyke Road or Chickerell Road from Rodwell Avenue, there are a number of options, you can use:
• Portland Road to Wyke Road (via cemetery junction) or continue along Lanehouse Rocks Road to Chickerell Road
• Abbotsbury Road by turning left at Harbour Crossroads or Westham Crossroads
• Local roads; Cross Road, Faircross Avenue and Everest Road
We appreciate that this will mean a longer journey for a number of people.
Taking the left turns out of these junctions allows us to have a two stage cycle at the lights, which includes a controlled pedestrian crossing of both Wyke Road and Chickerell Road. If left turns remained, we would have to go to a three stage cycle at the lights (including an all red phase) which would bring traffic on Boot Hill to a standstill.
It is a question of balancing the restrictions against the benefits the scheme will bring to all other traffic.
February 24, 2011 at 3:10 pm |
Alternatively (and if you want to risk it) continue down Boot Hill to the Harbour Junction taking the ‘right turn’ lane. Turn back up Boot Hill (effectively a U-turn).
Turn right at Chickerell Road or Wyke Road.
February 25, 2011 at 7:40 am
I thought the u-turn at the new junction was how drivers were meant to access the slip lane into Chickerell Road if coming from the rodwell area? There are no signs or road markings indicating either way.
If not, it seems the left turn at the bottom of Boot Hill (which held no traffic up at all) has been replaced with a doubled journey using already over congested roads like Cross Road, Everest Road, Newstead Road or Lanehouse.
Incredible.
February 24, 2011 at 9:14 am |
Having used the new Harbour Junction for the past couple of weeks I must say I find it quite frightening to use except for the most straightforward manoeuvre. It strikes me that it has been designed by computer model and no consideration given to the practical reality of the number of vehicles crossing each others paths. Turning right from Westwey Road into Newstead Road is particularly hazardous. It can only be a matter of time before a serious accident occurs.
February 24, 2011 at 12:32 pm |
When will you wake up and realise that the Harbour/Asda/Fire Station junction is a disaster?
Someone is going to be injured or killed soon and when that happens DCC and those idiots responsible for it are going to get sued. And who’s going to pay for that? We are, the local taxpayers who have already been taken to the cleaners, inconvenienced, delayed and caused no end of trouble.
If you do not shut this junction down now then in my view you will be CRIMINALLY irresponsible and negligent.
February 25, 2011 at 7:11 pm |
Since the traffic lights went live the traffic hold-ups going down Rodwell Road to the Asda Junction have only been this bad during peak summer times and the morning rush hour. The traffic even flowed better when the gas works were being undertaken. Why is there a regular queue of traffic all the way from Buxton Road to the Asda Junction? Why is there inevitably 4 red lights over that short distance? Why is there a bus lane that reduces the main road to 2 lanes giving no opportunity to overtake and hence stopping all the traffic when the southbound bus stops or vehicles stop to try to get into Longfield Road which is effectively one way as vehicles park right up to the corner?
February 28, 2011 at 11:43 am |
Hi David,
The delays on Rodwell Road/Buxton Road being experienced at the moment is largely due to the temporary signals still in operation at the Rodwell Avenue junction.
Once this last junction is live, it will still take a while for the junctions to learn travel patterns and slowly become more efficient.
We have made adjustments to the signals at Wyke Road to allow more green time to vehicles travelling down into town, also, the phasing of the Wyke Road signals aims to distribute local traffic evenly between Buxton Road, Wyke Road and Lanehouse Rocks Road.
The bus lane on Rodwell Road is an essential part of the scheme, which aims to make public transport journey times in the borough more reliable.
February 26, 2011 at 9:31 pm |
One of your recommendations to access Chickerell Road is to use Everest Road. During the works, because of numerous complaints from residents and increased level of traffic on a narrow hilly road “No Entry Except For Access” signs were placed at either end of this road. So why is it now acceptable to use this route?
Also will the lights at the Wyke Road Junction be fine-tuned to allow a more equal flow of traffic? We have sat in a queue of traffic at these lights for 7 minutes while traffic coming from Weymouth passed us in dribs and drabs and our lights were only letting through a maximum of 8 cars at a time.
February 28, 2011 at 11:44 am |
Hi Chris,
We have made adjustments to the signals at Wyke Road to allow more green time to vehicles travelling down into town.
The delays on Rodwell Road/Buxton Road being experienced at the moment is largely due to the temporary signals still in operation at the Rodwell Avenue junction.
However, the phasing of the Wyke Road signals does aim to distribute local traffic evenly between Buxton Road, Wyke Road and Lanehouse Rocks Road.
As you know, Everest Road has always been used by local traffic – unfortunately it was made worse when Boot Hill was one-way – however the improvements should make journey times more reliable down Boot Hill and draw drivers away from these ‘rat runs’.
Because of the banned left turns into Wyke Road and Chickerell Road we do expect some local traffic to still use Cross Road and Everest Road, but this should be less than before the scheme was in place.
February 28, 2011 at 4:28 pm |
Your comments to my previous observation regarding the bus lane are worrying. By having a bus lane up Rodwell Road back to the Buxton Road seems to presuppose that you are anticipating stationary traffic queuing back to the Buxton Road on regular basis thus allowing buses to overtake the queue, I thought the objective of the new signal system was to keep the traffic flowing. I would also like your comments on the Longfield Road situation where cars park right up to the corner with Rodwell Road and make this road effectively one-way, so cars entering Longfield Road wait blocking the main road while vehicles from Longfield Road and those Netherton Road vehicles that access their property via Longfield, taxis and vehicles from the hotel exit the minor road.
March 2, 2011 at 11:48 am |
Hi David,
The bus lane is to ensure that the bus can get to the front of the traffic queue when the signals are on red, and therefore stay to its timetable.
We appreciate your comments about Longfield Road and we will look at these, however, we will also need to consider that removing any parking on the road will have a knock-on effect on other nearby local roads.
March 2, 2011 at 12:37 pm |
Is there a reason that you won’t comment on the massive public outcry about the horrendously dangerous Asda/fire station/harbour junction?
Do you think that just ignoring public concern about this major issue while you respond to relatively trivial questions is sensible?
Do you think ignoring the problem is going to stop someone getting killed or DCC getting sued?
March 3, 2011 at 1:41 pm |
Hi Peter,
As we have previously discussed, all comments, emails and phone calls regarding the Harbour Crossroads have been recorded and fed back to the project team.
Where someone has had a specific question we have of course tried our best to supply them with an adequate answer. Understandably, some people have wanted to comment on the junction rather than ask a question.
At no point have we ignored the comments or questions posed to us by members of the public, and the information from them – as well as the observations from our engineers – have been used to formulate the alterations for this junction.
As soon as these alterations are confirmed by our engineers they will be published on the blog and through the local media.
Matthew
March 2, 2011 at 8:22 pm |
Whats to stop kids pushing the crossing lights as they go by? This will stop traffic going up boot hill thus causing traffic to back up from Westwey road straight through the lights stopping traffic. This scheme is a complete disaster. What happened to the slip road towards the town bridge?
Turning into Wyke road from boothill should have remained a roundabout!!!!
March 4, 2011 at 10:19 am |
Hi Don,
There are detectors that sense if someone is waiting to cross, if that person then walks away it will cancel the request.
A slip road from Westwey Road onto North Quay was never included in the design of the scheme because there is not enough land to sufficiently accommodate both a slip lane and the volume of pedestrians that use this route.
March 15, 2011 at 11:53 am |
good morning, 2 questions. I live on the Nothe, my daughter lives in Glen avanue, how do we get there? We can’t go through Hope Square, we can’t come down Boot hill and turn left into chickerell road, we can’t go round the lights at the bottom of Boot Hill, so how????? Also, when crossing the roads at the bottom of boot Hill, how are the visually impaired going to know when it is safe to cross ? there are no sounds at the crossings, this is how young children learn to cross safely. Another mess up, That junction at the bottom of the hill, scares the living day-lights out of me, something is very wrong with it, and as usual, public opinion is being ignored!! sarai Allan
March 16, 2011 at 1:38 pm |
Hi Sarai,
To get into Chickerell Road from the Nothe we would suggest that as local traffic you use the local roads such as Cross Road, Faircross Avenue and Everest Road.
Taking the left turns out of the Boot Hill junctions allows us to have a two stage cycle at the lights, which includes a controlled pedestrian crossing of both Wyke Road and Chickerell Road. If left turns remained, we would have to go to a three stage cycle at the lights (including an all red phase) which would bring traffic on Boot Hill to a standstill.
Regarding your concern about the lack of sound indicating that it is safe to cross at Harbour Crossroads.
The crossings are very close to each other and it would be very hard for partially sighted or blind pedestrians to know which one was safe to cross if they had sound activated on them. Instead, each crossing has a tactile cone underneath the pushbutton that rotates when the green man is lit.
Also, there is no need to rush to cross the road. The crossings are Puffins, which means they have a detector that stops traffic for as long as it takes for a pedestrian to cross.