The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.
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Mark Hewitt wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 07:12
A lot of these aren't rat runs but have been closed to traffic. Eg Northumberland Street in Newcastle a very busy shopping street and of course so named as it's the way to get to Northumberland and was the A1 when numbers were first allocated.
Still open to some traffic when I was a student in the 80s!
Another example is the High Street in Huntingdon which before when the Huntingdon Viaduct opened had been the route of the A14 to Alconbury.
Many of the major roads in Middlesbrough were pedestrianised after the A66 was built providing a northern bypass. Much the same happened in Stockton-On-Tees following the re routing of the A19 over the Tees Viaduct. One of the more extreme examples was Ashford In Kent where the infamous ring road was removed after the
M20 completion. http://www.alexandrapatrick.co.uk/wp/wp ... roject.pdf viewtopic.php?t=29661
KeithW wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 09:42
Bedford Road at the Black cat is one example, the modern route to Bedford is the A421 southern bypass.
In Cambridge you have Huntingdon Road no bypassed by the M11
Although there is no indication at the Black Cat roundabout that the road to which you refer is named Bedford Road so no help to strangers and little use - as a rat run - to locals heading to Bedford
Unless of course you recall when it was the A421 to Bedford, as I do, or heaven forfend look at a map
In reality I dont see anyone using it as a rat run, the new A421 is MUCH faster. It can however be thought of as one of the roads that is useful in extremis. On my many journeys between Oxford and Cambridge I have used many routes to get home when all went wrong, There was one occasion when a multiple accident on the A421 had traffic backed up all the way from Cardington to the A1 when I ended up using the Barford Road to Tempsford and picked up the A428 at Little Barford
I used it many years before the A421 bypass was built and still use it regularly visiting family.
Your memory of the accident avoidance route seems strange if you were heading west!
KeithW wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 15:21
In reality I dont see anyone using it as a rat run, the new A421 is MUCH faster. It can however be thought of as one of the roads that is useful in extremis. On my many journeys between Oxford and Cambridge I have used many routes to get home when all went wrong, There was one occasion when a multiple accident on the A421 had traffic backed up all the way from Cardington to the A1 when I ended up using the Barford Road to Tempsford and picked up the A428 at Little Barford
I used it many years before the A421 bypass was built and still use it regularly visiting family.
Your memory of the accident avoidance route seems strange if you were heading west!
Fortunately heading for Cambridge after spending all day in a meeting at Harwell meant heading east
RichardA35 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 07:23
But the road in the GSV link isn't closed.
Wot? I road is only "closed" if it's barricaded to pedestrians? A moat and barbed wire, perhaps? Maybe a mine field?
As this is a "roads" forum and this is a fairly basic concept in highway law, it is unhelpful to turn to hyperbole and to view the issue solely from the viewpoint of drivers of motor vehicles.
There is plenty of information available on the internet to help discern the difference between the orders for traffic regulation and stopping up.
RichardA35 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 07:23
But the road in the GSV link isn't closed.
Wot? I road is only "closed" if it's barricaded to pedestrians? A moat and barbed wire, perhaps? Maybe a mine field?
Well, yes. If you build a wall across it so that nobody can pass by any means, the road has been closed, or "stopped up" in legal terms. If you can still get through somehow, then it's not fully closed, it's just closed to certain classes of traffic. That might not be the way people would describe it in everyday speech but it is true.
When the M6/A14 Catthorpe junction was rebuilt this extinguished existing pedestrian rights of way and to mitigate this the Highways Agency as it then was were required to provide a new bridleway to replace them. The same happened with the new A14 where number of bridges were provided over the new road to provide access for non motorised traffic.
There are several types of roads, in addition to normal highways there are byways. A byway open to all (BOAT) is open to all classes of traffic but restricted byways are typically only open to pedestrians (footpath) or pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders (bridle way).
County Councils are required to maintain a definitive map showing all rights of way.
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 10:12
Good luck getting to London from this London Road. It runs north eastwards in Blackburn.
London Street in Edinburgh is an obscure back street, still partly cobbled. It's next to Dublin Street. Neither of course being named after where they go.
Yes, this Windsor Road has been closed for vehicles, but since it's on an island I wouldn't except to find Windsor at either end:
pjr10th wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:46
Though if we're saying all roads should take you to whatever they name, I think you'll find me driving down this one in Norwich: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8FtNwWm1AoxJLrMS8
pjr10th wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:46
Though if we're saying all roads should take you to whatever they name, I think you'll find me driving down this one in Norwich: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8FtNwWm1AoxJLrMS8
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 10:12
Good luck getting to London from this London Road. It runs north eastwards in Blackburn.
London Street in Edinburgh is an obscure back street, still partly cobbled. It's next to Dublin Street. Neither of course being named after where they go.
Yes, this Windsor Road has been closed for vehicles, but since it's on an island I wouldn't except to find Windsor at either end:
KeithW wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 15:21
In reality I dont see anyone using it as a rat run, the new A421 is MUCH faster. It can however be thought of as one of the roads that is useful in extremis. On my many journeys between Oxford and Cambridge I have used many routes to get home when all went wrong, There was one occasion when a multiple accident on the A421 had traffic backed up all the way from Cardington to the A1 when I ended up using the Barford Road to Tempsford and picked up the A428 at Little Barford
I used it many years before the A421 bypass was built and still use it regularly visiting family.
Your memory of the accident avoidance route seems strange if you were heading west!
Fortunately heading for Cambridge after spending all day in a meeting at Harwell meant heading east
Ah! Traffic backed up all the way to Cardington from the A1
I used it many years before the A421 bypass was built and still use it regularly visiting family.
Your memory of the accident avoidance route seems strange if you were heading west!
Fortunately heading for Cambridge after spending all day in a meeting at Harwell meant heading east
Ah! Traffic backed up all the way to Cardington from the A1
To be precise what I posted was
the A421 had traffic backed up all the way from Cardington to the A1
A quick look at the map will show the A1 is north east of Cardington. Given that at the time I was making the round trip once a week it was not something I would be likely to get wrong. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.58 ... !3e0?hl=en
Liverpool St in London faces the wrong way to go to Liverpool and the Liverpool St station serves East Anglia, not the North West. If you were to use Liverpool St station to get to Liverpool, apart from having to buy seperate tickets as it is nowhere near a direct route to the city, you'd need to catch a train to Stansted Airport, then another to Birmingham New St for Liverpool.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 13:09
Liverpool St in London faces the wrong way to go to Liverpool and the Liverpool St station serves East Anglia, not the North West. If you were to use Liverpool St station to get to Liverpool, apart from having to buy seperate tickets as it is nowhere near a direct route to the city, you'd need to catch a train to Stansted Airport, then another to Birmingham New St for Liverpool.
Liverpool Street was I believe named after Lord Liverpool who was Prime Minister between 1812 and 1827.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 13:09
Liverpool St in London faces the wrong way to go to Liverpool and the Liverpool St station serves East Anglia, not the North West. If you were to use Liverpool St station to get to Liverpool, apart from having to buy seperate tickets as it is nowhere near a direct route to the city, you'd need to catch a train to Stansted Airport, then another to Birmingham New St for Liverpool.
Liverpool Street was I believe named after Lord Liverpool who was Prime Minister between 1812 and 1827.
I wondered if this was the case, although naming it Lord Liverpool St would be more obvious.
Street names don't typically get the honorific. In Middlesbrough Albert Road was named in honour of Prince Albert and Victoria Street after the Queen. Similarly in Southsea Palmerston Road was name after Lord Palmerston.