Despite having lived there for many years, it has only just dawned on me that Elland, a small but not inconsequential town, doesn't actually possess a single set of traffic lights.

Not one. Not even a pelican crossing.

As already conceded, it's only a small town, but hardly a transport backwater, having within its borders all of the following:

- a motorway (including a motorway junction)
- a dual carriageway primary A road (two, if you count the Blackley spur)
- a non-primary A road
- a B road
- a railway (but no station - that's a moan for another day)
- a river
- a canal

But no traffic lights.

Yes, the B6114 has traffic light junctions with the B6112 (as does the B6113) and A643, but these are both beyond Elland, in West Vale (Greetland) and Rastrick respectively.

It strikes me that it must be pretty unusual for a town which is big enough to be shown in capital letters on an OS Landranger map not to have any traffic lights at all.

Can anyone think of any others and, if so, which is the biggest?

I was gonna reply to this with "there isnt any" .. then read your post

I think the problem will be defining town though... I suspect Ollerton in north notts is a town, but can't think of any traffic lights. I don't personally think it should be classed as a town though...

I've been led to believe that Cumbernauld is such a town, and it appears to be similar in size to Elland. Never having visited the place (and only having by-passed it on the A80) I can't vouch for the claim.

I'm sure I've seen a light-controlled pedestrian crossing somewhere in Cumbernauld. Could be wrong, though.

Ashbourne?

the nearest non-pedestrian crossing set of lights to here (Amersham) is either High Wycombe or Chorleywood.

However there are three pelican crossings (two only going across half the road each to form one crossing that's in two parts) on White Lion Road in Amersham. Other than the one on Stanley Hill, I can't think of anymore though - all zebras and traffic islands.

I don't think South Molton has any traffic lights, although it is only a small town, and I might be wrong!

Appleby (-in-Westmorland). Although it's pretty small, it gets its name in capitals.

As for the rest of the list, I couldn't say exactly where it ends, but it's got a dual carriageway A road (if its bypass counts), a B road (originally the main road), a river, a railway (with station, formerly two), but no canals or non-primary A roads.

Edit: - I'm suddenly not sure if there's not a light-controlled pedestrian crossing on the old main road through it...

Soham in Cambridgeshire.

Ashbourne definitely has at least 3, probably 4 sets of lights in and around the town centre. Although it looks from the map as though it might be a big one-way system in practice it isn't.

As far as I can remember, Peebles has no lights - a roundabout at each end of the A72 through the centre, and pedestrian refuges at intervals in between.

Thanks for these replies. To clarify some of the points that have cropped up:

- For the purpose of this thread, any settlement shown in capital letters on an OS Landranger map is a town; if it's only shown in lower case letters it doesn't count.

- It doesn't matter about the rest of the list (I was just setting the scene with all that stuff); only whether or not there are any traffic lights.

- Pelican and similar crossings count as traffic lights.

Cheers.

I thought Silsden might have been another candidate but IIRC there's at least one pelican on the A6034 there.

Were pedestrian crossings purposefully eliminated from Peebles? I'm sure I remember there being some in the past, that had vanished when I last visited.

I can't remember there having been any in the last 10 years. Peebles High Street has always been one where peds just wander across anywhere, and most traffic drives at 15 mph because of this. (or vice versa)

I'm fairly certain that Peebles has a set of lights at a pedestrian crossing beside the roundabout at the east side of the town.

Cumbernauld certainly has a similar set of lights at the eastern side of the town centre.

Up until March 2004, Cumbernauld did indeed have no traffic lights of any kind. When Tesco Extra opened, a pedestrian crossing was placed on the newly-built road between Central Way and North Carbrain Road (which according to Bus Timetables is called "Tesco Road" - perhaps I'm being naive...). This road now features on Multimap albeit with the old road (that runs through the checkouts!) still showing.

One year later and a second set were placed in the Condorrat area.

No it doesn't, but like you say it is small. I can only think of five sets in Tiverton, all but one purely for pedestrian crossings (including one right next to a footbridge... go figure...). Minehead only has the one I think, but it's still not none!

Richie G

I'm sure I remember some traffic lights in Ashbourne, where the road from Belper meets the old A52 near the centre of the town.

Similarly, the entire county of Leitrim here in the RoI had no traffic lights whatsoever* until 2004! The N4 passes right through Leitrim too!



*with the sole exception of 'traffic' lights on the 1994 built Shannon-Erne canal system which links the major waterway of the republic with that of northern Ireland! Boat lights before car lights