Odd dual carriageway

The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.

There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).

Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.

Moderator: Site Management Team

User avatar
KeithW
Member
Posts: 19205
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 13:25
Location: Marton-In-Cleveland North Yorks

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by KeithW »

jervi wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 22:12
Nwallace wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 20:08 Ahhem
https://goo.gl/maps/1CNqo89mtf3Ju6R99

Could be one for an away day?
I'd classify that as a natural traffic island, for sheep or something.
More likely a road builder in the 1930's going around a large boulder than trying to cut through it. They werent exactly over provided with mechanical equipment. You can see similar examples on the tracks to the Bilsdale Transmitter Mast in North Yorkshire which were originally built to get to old stone quarries. Just here they simply went past one on 3 sides. You can see the different colours of the rock outcrops compared with the green peat coverage.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Osm ... authuser=0
Nwallace
Member
Posts: 4239
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 22:42
Location: Dundee

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Nwallace »

KeithW wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 09:30
jervi wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 22:12
Nwallace wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 20:08 Ahhem
https://goo.gl/maps/1CNqo89mtf3Ju6R99

Could be one for an away day?
I'd classify that as a natural traffic island, for sheep or something.
More likely a road builder in the 1930's going around a large boulder than trying to cut through it. They werent exactly over provided with mechanical equipment. You can see similar examples on the tracks to the Bilsdale Transmitter Mast in North Yorkshire which were originally built to get to old stone quarries. Just here they simply went past one on 3 sides. You can see the different colours of the rock outcrops compared with the green peat coverage.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Osm ... authuser=0
That's more a triangle junction; at least with the Coll one it's a D1 that like other Dn roads remerges to Sn.
The reason for the triangle could be as much to do with getting larger vehicles the right angle of approach as getting roun that big grey lump in the middle
M19
Member
Posts: 2249
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2001 05:00
Location: Rothwell, Northants

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by M19 »

How about this?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GxRqurNcsXwtMtWT9

Looks like a D2, with parking bays, but dare use the inside when there are no parked vehicles, and you'll soon find yourself heading for a crudely dumped build-out.

For the unfamiliar, the inside lane is not a vehicle lane, but parking bays and a cycle lane. If so, then why can't it be marked as such using a solid line or something distinctive to make clear the running lane and the spaces dedicated to these other functions.

As an aside the parking bays look like an excuse to throttle the road capacity, as every house has a huge driveway, and hardly any cyclists make use of this grand facility. The door zone no doubt is a put off.

Poorly marked, badly executed. Who "designs" these schemes? I suppose there was money in some sort of "sustainability" pot begging to be spent?

Also, in South Tyneside, behold the D1 and 3/4.

A194
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8TaVMixP6sa52wwaA

Was the same idiot responsible?
M19
User avatar
the cheesecake man
Member
Posts: 2462
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 13:21
Location: Sheffield

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by the cheesecake man »

I encountered this random little dual carriageway in Matlock.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Bryn666 »

the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 13:07 I encountered this random little dual carriageway in Matlock.
These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Skipsy
Member
Posts: 197
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 19:53

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Skipsy »

May I interest everyone with the D1 Cul-de-sac Chalgrove Avenue?
It's actually a really nice looking residential street

There's a couple of nice D1s nearby too, Green lane and Love Lane which both meet here
crb11
Member
Posts: 1630
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 21:35
Location: Cambridge

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by crb11 »

Bryn666 wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 14:29
the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 13:07 I encountered this random little dual carriageway in Matlock.
These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
I think they were a bit of a fad at the time to mark the start of estates: here's another one in Cambridge.
[real name Colin]
User avatar
jervi
Member
Posts: 1596
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 16:29
Location: West Sussex

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by jervi »

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.03784 ... 6656?hl=en
Short section of D1. Just a few hundred meters away from that motorist in a Tesla that ran over 7 people yesterday.
It is a private road, however it is a public bridleway & access to a publicly accessible public.
User avatar
ForestChav
SABRE Developer
Posts: 11081
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2005 00:00
Location: Nottingham (Bronx of the Midlands)
Contact:

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by ForestChav »

Johnathan404 wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 22:44
jervi wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 22:38 Had a thought just now, was gonna start a new thread but this thread's name already suits it.
Are there any examples (preferably in the UK) of a dual carriageway, which has a permanent contraflow lane on one of the carriageways? In other words, carriageway A has two lanes northbound, and carriageway B has 1 lane southbound and 1 lane northbound. Or similar.
A52 Clifton Boulevard in Nottingham...
Over Clifton Bridge, albeit not at the moment with the work on the Eastern bridge still ongoing.
C, E flat and G go into a bar. The barman says "sorry, we don't serve minors". So E flat walks off, leaving C and G to share an open fifth between them.

Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
fras
Member
Posts: 3590
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2012 18:34

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by fras »

Bryn666 wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 14:29
the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 13:07 I encountered this random little dual carriageway in Matlock.
These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
It's essentially a copy of what you see all over the Continent, and is a device to slow traffic down on approach to a village. We prefer to use road humps, but I never saw any in Germany.
This one in Kings Lynn is a bit odd in comparison as it would seem designed to slow down traffic in both directions. What is more common there is a half moon version of what you see in Kings Lynn.
ABB125
Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2020 19:58

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by ABB125 »

fras wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 21:53
Bryn666 wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 14:29
the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 13:07 I encountered this random little dual carriageway in Matlock.
These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
It's essentially a copy of what you see all over the Continent, and is a device to slow traffic down on approach to a village. We prefer to use road humps, but I never saw any in Germany.
This one in Kings Lynn is a bit odd in comparison as it would seem designed to slow down traffic in both directions. What is more common there is a half moon version of what you see in Kings Lynn.
I found something similar recently in Weston Super Mare:
Churchland Way
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AwQjX3NBmz7CTqHs5
fras
Member
Posts: 3590
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2012 18:34

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by fras »

ABB125 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 23:32
fras wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 21:53
Bryn666 wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 14:29

These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
It's essentially a copy of what you see all over the Continent, and is a device to slow traffic down on approach to a village. We prefer to use road humps, but I never saw any in Germany.
This one in Kings Lynn is a bit odd in comparison as it would seem designed to slow down traffic in both directions. What is more common there is a half moon version of what you see in Kings Lynn.
I found something similar recently in Weston Super Mare:
Churchland Way
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AwQjX3NBmz7CTqHs5
Thanks for finding this one. Of course installing these things costs a lot more than just putting in road humps. I'm not sure if road humps are even legal in Germany, certainly I prefer the chicanes over humps.
User avatar
Brenley Corner
Member
Posts: 3853
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 19:28
Location: nr. Canterbury, Kent

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Brenley Corner »

ABB125 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 23:32
fras wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 21:53
Bryn666 wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 14:29

These seem to be an attempt at 90s traffic calming, see also this daftness in Kings Lynn: https://goo.gl/maps/Wa2zYr586E6FSTzB9
It's essentially a copy of what you see all over the Continent, and is a device to slow traffic down on approach to a village. We prefer to use road humps, but I never saw any in Germany.
This one in Kings Lynn is a bit odd in comparison as it would seem designed to slow down traffic in both directions. What is more common there is a half moon version of what you see in Kings Lynn.
I found something similar recently in Weston Super Mare:
Churchland Way
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AwQjX3NBmz7CTqHs5
And the Isle of Sheppey in Kent too - https://goo.gl/maps/oWEeFhbVTjvLBtP8A. New build local connector road so probably fairly easy to install from new than to retrofit.
Brenley Corner: congesting traffic since 1963; discussing roads since 2002
crb11
Member
Posts: 1630
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 21:35
Location: Cambridge

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by crb11 »

Nigeria uses (or at least did when I was there in 2005) a half moon either side to slow the traffic on an approach to a level crossing in open country. The ones I saw had no gates or any means of showing a train was coming, so I'm hoping the lines weren't currently in use.
[real name Colin]
User avatar
exiled
President
Posts: 24644
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 17:36
Location: South Lanarkshire

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by exiled »

The A376 Exeter to Exmouth has this bit

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.69810 ... 384!8i8192

Southbound it is 2 lane, northbound it is 1 lane. It narrows here

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.69250 ... 384!8i8192
Did you know there's more to SABRE than just the Forums?
Add your roads knowledge to the SABRE Wiki today!
Have you browsed SABRE Maps recently? Try getting involved!
User avatar
owen b
Member
Posts: 9861
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 15:22
Location: Luton

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by owen b »

Brenley Corner wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 09:10
ABB125 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 23:32
fras wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 21:53
It's essentially a copy of what you see all over the Continent, and is a device to slow traffic down on approach to a village. We prefer to use road humps, but I never saw any in Germany.
This one in Kings Lynn is a bit odd in comparison as it would seem designed to slow down traffic in both directions. What is more common there is a half moon version of what you see in Kings Lynn.
I found something similar recently in Weston Super Mare:
Churchland Way
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AwQjX3NBmz7CTqHs5
And the Isle of Sheppey in Kent too - https://goo.gl/maps/oWEeFhbVTjvLBtP8A. New build local connector road so probably fairly easy to install from new than to retrofit.
Variation on a theme here, in Bicester : https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.89145 ... 312!8i6656 In fact there's two of them as the overhead view shows, one after the other, so rather more elaborate than most. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.89197 ... a=!3m1!1e3
Owen
User avatar
Norfolktolancashire
Member
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 22:34
Location: Cornwall

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

exiled wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 20:44 The A376 Exeter to Exmouth has this bit

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.69810 ... 384!8i8192

Southbound it is 2 lane, northbound it is 1 lane. It narrows here

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.69250 ... 384!8i8192
I love this stretch going north, no idea why it is like it though!
Herned
Member
Posts: 1363
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 09:15

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by Herned »

The road was dualled by adding the southbound carriageway and keeping the existing road as the northbound carriageway. It used to be marked as two lanes for much more of the distance. I have always assumed the reason for all the empty space between the two carriageways is because there was a plan to rebuild the northbound carriageway, which never happened, but don't know for sure
User avatar
wrinkly
Member
Posts: 8988
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:17
Location: Leeds

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by wrinkly »

It's usual when dualling a rural road to build the new carriageway to modern alignment standards. That may create a wide space in places where the old carriageway is wiggly. There does not necessarily have to be a specific plan for later realignment of the wiggly carriageway, though there are places where that has been done, e.g. on the A1.

Sometimes the new build carriageway switches sides relative to the original road, so after dualling the wiggles switch sides. The A376 seems to be an example.
KevS
Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 21:08
Location: Norwich

Re: Odd dual carriageway

Post by KevS »

We've mentioned Ulster Avenue in Ipswich here before, which bizarrely was treated as two parallel two way roads until the late eighties when the council suddenly realised that,with three schools in the close vicinity and a shopping parade, this was asking for trouble, and so several signs and a spot of road marking later, it became an actual dual carriageway.

But there is another one in the town which was never changed: Moffat Avenue. You'll note no signs or anything advising which is the correct side. And so you do get some coming down the "wrong" side which is a bit alarming. And then to compound matters, you have this halfway along where it turns into a square, with Ross Road going off to the left, and Fife Road to the right. Moffat Avenue continues on the other side. What are you supposed to do here? Treat it as a roundabout? That silver car parked on the pavement on the right hand side - if he came from where the picture is taken, did he go all the way round, or did he just turn right at that first gap immediately in front of us. There have been accidents here over the years, but I guess the vital difference between this and Ulster Avenue is that this isn't on a bus route.
It's a ticket to plastic death
Post Reply