‘It’s infuriating – the traffic in the west end is horrific because of roadworks’
Karen Moore is being driven to distraction by ongoing roadworks that have added an extra hour on to her return daily commute of just 12 miles.
It used to take the radiologist around 20 minutes to travel from her home on Glasgow’s south side to her job at Gartnavel Hospital – a little over six miles away in the city’s west end. But due to the number of temporary traffic light systems that have been installed en-route in the past few months, the same journey now takes her almost 50 minutes each way.
“It has become infuriating,” said the 48-year-old. “It is adding at least an hour on to my working day, every day. The drive to work used to be pretty painless but now it takes ages. It is a lot of stress that people just don’t need. I have plenty of colleagues and friends who are in the same boat.”
Moore said the worst spots on the way into work are on the approach to the Kingston Bridge.
“Sometimes it takes more than 20 minutes to travel just a couple of miles along Pollokshaws Road and when I come off it, it can take the same amount of time again to go a similar distance to the hospital. It’s the same on the way back. The traffic in the west end is horrific because of roadworks and when I exit the motorway on the way home, it can then take 25 minutes to travel the last couple of miles to my house.”
Moore said the management of temporary traffic lights, often on four-way timers at busy junctions, has to be improved.
“I have seen the temporary lights change twice and still not one car has got through them because there are so many vehicles backed up beyond the lights – but at the same time, the green light will be on for very little, or sometimes no traffic, coming the other way.
“I appreciate that the roads need to be maintained but the work needs to be better organised to minimise these disruptions. It really impacts your day and it seems to be getting worse all over the city by the week.”