This is an old article. The tram still causes problems, but this was related to its construction phase.
I had a lesson with a pupil in Long Eaton yesterday. Getting down there for 1pm was no problem but coming back at 2.30pm was a nightmare. Traffic was solid along Queens Road West heading through Beeston – and this was a good 2 hours before the rush hour. And the reason?
The halfwits responsible for phase II of the tram system – that total waste of money that is currently putting people out of business and ruining lives by over-running and creating constant noise and access problems – have ripped out the roundabout at the end of University Boulevard and replaced it with a traffic light-controlled junction.
I heard on the BBC local traffic news this morning the glib comment:
There is queuing traffic in Beeston because of temporary lights and a new road layout.
That doesn’t tell even half of the story. The reason there is queuing traffic is solely because the Council and NET are a bunch of Neanderthals who are too stupid to even organise a piss up in a brewery. Between them they are destroying Nottingham. The only people who are ever likely to benefit from the tram are those who are either too poor or too old to drive cars – and that’s only in theory, since the tram is too expensive for even poor people to use too often.
The vast majority of the rest of the population – motorists – can go hang, as far as the Council is concerned.
At the time of writing, Aspley Lane has been turned into a nightmare by the removal of a roundabout. All the signs are that the Crown Island is going, too. Three roundabouts have been removed in Clifton because of the tram. The Council has sanctioned traffic light replacement at several sites – most notably in Mapperley, where there are lane restrictions.Also in Mapperley are temporary lights just before the Spring Lane roundabout. Work is on-going on Middleton Boulevard (the shit hasn’t hit the fan yet, but it will). And a big, flashy sign proclaims impending work at the Forest Road roundabout at the junction with Mansfield Road.
Nottingham City Council is trying very hard – and succeeding – in destroying this place.
Oh, yes. And on my way through Beeston I noticed a billboard which carried a big photo of the tram and the banner, declaring “Thanks for bearing with us during the tram works”.
No one had any choice – including those who have gone out of business (or who will do) as a result of the tram.