Lights chaos frustrating

FINALLY someone in the media has raised the issue of our local traffic management ( or lack thereof).

It would seem that the approach being thrust upon us follows the belief that “If it can’t move, it can’t hurt”.

The problem with that is it can create anger, road rage, impatience, and sheer frustration. It also increases instances of red light running, illegal Uturns, tailgating and median strip crossing to name a few.

The main point I feel you have missed or may not be aware of is the three or four year social experiment being conducted by TMC in Townsville, in the form of “split sequence traffic lights”.

This is what you have described at the Flinders St West and Little Fletcher St intersection., except it has been applied at almost all intersections in Townsville. In essence, it takes a normal four way intersection with four right turn lanes and four corresponding straight through lanes and adds an extra dimension making a simple logical four sequence cycle and turns it into a longer five sequence disjointed cycle. Common sense dictates that this means more waiting time, more fuel consumption and pollution, but TMC insists on this notion of priority road traffic flow which leaves motorists stranded watching traffic pass by for 1, 2 and more kilometres while they sit twiddling their thumbs. We don’t have three million people. We have barely 200,000 people.

The new lights at Banfield Drive and Dalrymple Rd are a perfect example – if you are on Banfield Drive or Angus Ave, you will be able to observe cars come from Bamford Lane, right on to Dalrymple Rd pass you and continue past the new lights at Greg Jabbs Ct and even score a green light to turn right on to Nathan St. And still you sit and wait.

Dearness St/ Crauford St – Hugh St intersection at Garbutt … take a cut lunch with you. The traffic will leave the Ingham Rd railway crossing, wave to you as they merrily pass by on their way through the lights at Old Common Rd and Bundock St. Still, you wait.

Turning right from Charters Towers Rd into Townsend St, Mysterton ( or the reverse), watch the cars leave Rising Sun intersection and go all the way past Bayswater Tce and out of sight. And, you wait.

Heaven forbid we could ever recreate the bedlam caused by the bizarre arrangements currently forced upon the residents on the Bohle North Shore side of town.

Like anyone else, I could go on. But really, can’t we just go back to quicker, easier, more convenient volume moving, less time consuming, less polluting ( where have the J. Browns, J. Stirlings and M. Downes been while this is going on?).

Nathan St/ Ross River Rd intersection works. Doesn’t that say something? And please, if you work within the system of Traffic Control ( note, I didn’t write management), can you please use the taxpayer funded facility of vehicle sensor installed at all intersections? Especially between 7pm and 6am.

If TMC are to continue to ignore calls, queries, requests and complaints to their 13 19 40 hotline, why do they continue to ask for comments?

NAME, ADDRESS SUPPLIED