A5228 at Luton

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roadphotos
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A5228 at Luton

Post by roadphotos »

Does the A5228 exist west of the A6 at Luton ?. The A5228 used to be shown between the A505 (Dunstable Road) and the A6 before it was downgraded to an unclassified minor road (not numbered). When this reclassification happened maps then only showed the A5228 east of the A6, all of the road west of the A6 was shown as an unclassified minor road. This was the case for many years but now the latest OS maps show the road west of the A6 as being the A5228 again. The maps now once again show the A5228 starting at Dunstable Road (the A505) and running along Waller Avenue before turning right along part of Leagrave Road and then turning left onto Woodland Avenue and continuing along Montrose Avenue to the A6 which is the route that the A5228 originally took before it was downgraded. Also the Wiki seems to be all confused over this so I thought that I'd ask the question. Does anyone know whether this road is definitely part of the A5228 ?.
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owen b
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by owen b »

roadphotos wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 18:51 Does the A5228 exist west of the A6 at Luton ?. The A5228 used to be shown between the A505 (Dunstable Road) and the A6 before it was downgraded to an unclassified minor road (not numbered). When this reclassification happened maps then only showed the A5228 east of the A6, all of the road west of the A6 was shown as an unclassified minor road. This was the case for many years but now the latest OS maps show the road west of the A6 as being the A5228 again. The maps now once again show the A5228 starting at Dunstable Road (the A505) and running along Waller Avenue before turning right along part of Leagrave Road and then turning left onto Woodland Avenue and continuing along Montrose Avenue to the A6 which is the route that the A5228 originally took before it was downgraded. Also the Wiki seems to be all confused over this so I thought that I'd ask the question. Does anyone know whether this road is definitely part of the A5228 ?.
Short answer : I don't know.

Longer answer : my assumption is that it doesn't. That's based on i) some mapping, and ii) the fact that at the A5228 / A6 roundabout (ie. New Bedford Road / Stockingstone Road / Montrose Avenue) Dunstable and the M1 is signposted down the A6 New Bedford Road to join Hatters Way towards M1 J11. That suggests that the cross town route is discouraged. Having said that, as you say, Ordnance Survey mapping (though not Google Maps) seems to be going back to showing Montrose Avenue as the A5228 again. Also, as someone who has lived in Luton for 30 odd years, road numbering in the town has been flaky all these years.

There's an A5228 sign which has seen better days here (at the Biscot Mill roundabout, on Montrose Avenue) :
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.89617 ... 384!8i8192
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by roadphotos »

Thanks, after looking at the A5228 sign at the Biscot Mill Roundabout I also noticed that the road signs on Montrose Avenue on both approaches to the same roundabout also show the A5228 number.
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by Steven »

It is consistently shown on OS maps of all scales west of the A6 since late 2019, therefore it's not an error on a single scale.

For example, it is not shown there on VectorMap District releases until the November 2019 release, and consistently thereafter. It's on Landrangers and 1:250k OpenData (as can be seen on SABRE Maps), plus Explorers from that time onwards.
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owen b
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by owen b »

roadphotos wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 09:17 Thanks, after looking at the A5228 sign at the Biscot Mill Roundabout I also noticed that the road signs on Montrose Avenue on both approaches to the same roundabout also show the A5228 number.
Those signs are probably my favourites in Luton, they look so old and weathered. But I note that at the New Bedford Road / Montrose Avenue roundabout there is no sign indicating the existence of the A5228 along Montrose Avenue, and no sign directing M1 or Dunstable traffic that way. Montrose Avenue it seems is not the preferred route for traffic from the A6 north of the town centre towards the M1.
Steven wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 09:35 It is consistently shown on OS maps of all scales west of the A6 since late 2019, therefore it's not an error on a single scale.

For example, it is not shown there on VectorMap District releases until the November 2019 release, and consistently thereafter. It's on Landrangers and 1:250k OpenData (as can be seen on SABRE Maps), plus Explorers from that time onwards.
Thanks for this comment, it does seem that OS has consistently updated their mapping as you say. Given my previous replies to roadphotos it does seem strange if the A5228 has been resurrected considering that on the ground it appears not to be a preferred route and there's been no significant changes to the roads themselves in that part of town in recent years that I can think of.
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by c2R »

The 2015 FOI request shows both sides as the A5228
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... .xlsx.html

I can't find anything more recent and their web site is a bit rubbish.
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owen b
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Re: A5228 at Luton

Post by owen b »

c2R wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:41 The 2015 FOI request shows both sides as the A5228
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... .xlsx.html

I can't find anything more recent and their web site is a bit rubbish.
Thank you so much, that's genius :D .

It puts me out my agony (I might be slightly exaggerating :laugh: ) on a couple of points :
i) the A5228 exists west of the A6 (the subject of this thread), or at least it did as of 2015.
ii) I've been wondering for ever what number Telford Way (the short link on the NW side of the inner ring) takes. A spur of the A505? A spur of the A6? An extension of the A5065? Something else? Now we know, it's a spur of the A6.

Something else I spotted : Hatters Way (the Luton-Dunstable relief road, parallel with the guided busway) is listed as both A505 and A5065, which makes no sense unless the A505 section is only the tiny link of about 50 metres from the roundabout on the inner ring to where Dunstable Road diverges from Hatters Way.
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