Barry Drive and Clunies Ross to be upgraded

Any upgrade to Clunies Ross should include widening it to 2 lanes southbound between Barry Drive and Dickson Rd (the turn off to ANU) and 2 lanes northbound between Dickson Rd and the turn off to Parkes Way.

This will properly sort the traffic going to CSIRO and ANU from the traffic continuing on Clunies Ross (southbound) and the traffic going to Black Mt and the Botanic Gardens (northbound). Given that alot of cyclists also use the road (rather than the bike path) it might also make things a little less dangerous for them.

And something should be done about the length of time it takes for the traffic lights to change to turn right from Clunies Ross on to Barry Drive, especially in the afternoons. Could that intersection be turned into a roundabout to better regulate the traffic flow? And maybe an overpass for pedestrians and cyclists to link CSIRO, ANU and Turner?

Holden Caulfield said :

bd84 said :

Most of the traffic problems on Barry Drive is a result of the morons who choose the shortest line of traffic then force their way into the other lane of traffic further up, mostly around the form 1 lane after McCaughey St and approaching the bus lane near Clunes Ross St in the opposite direction. No fix for that other than getting some police on the road.

Is what you describe as “force their way” what everyone else calls merging?

From your description I can’t see what the Police would be doing, except observing motorists following the road rules.

No, not at the form one lanes. This is people who need to be in the right lane and choose to sit in the far left lane because the line of traffic is shorter, stick their right indicator on (if lucky) and immediately pull right into the other lane no matter if there’s no gap.. Though they could probably sit at the merging points too and write the tickets to people who don’t know how to merge and give way.

Holden Caulfield said :

bd84 said :

Most of the traffic problems on Barry Drive is a result of the morons who choose the shortest line of traffic then force their way into the other lane of traffic further up, mostly around the form 1 lane after McCaughey St and approaching the bus lane near Clunes Ross St in the opposite direction. No fix for that other than getting some police on the road.

Is what you describe as “force their way” what everyone else calls merging?

From your description I can’t see what the Police would be doing, except observing motorists following the road rules.

Probably no actual law being broken unless “driving like a dick” is one. These people know 10km back that they need to turn right into Clunies Ross/Kingsley/Marcus Clarke Sts and they also know that traffic is heavy at 7.30 which coincidently is the same time they leave home every morning to get to work, but they wait until they are 20m away from their turnoff and try and force their way across to the appropriate lane causing 50 cars to brake suddenly. A bit of courteous driving would be more helpful, these people if say coming down Belco Way should think about moving over where it turns into Barry Dr. They might get to where they are going 20 seconds later but if they left home 30 seconds earlier they would actually be in credit time wise.

Agreed that trying to get out of Bolderwood St is hard in peak hour, not sure what can be done short of installing traffic lights or a roundabout (which will slow traffic down even more causing fustration and yet more dodgy driving from commuters coming down Barry Dr).

bd84 said :

Most of the traffic problems on Barry Drive is a result of the morons who choose the shortest line of traffic then force their way into the other lane of traffic further up, mostly around the form 1 lane after McCaughey St and approaching the bus lane near Clunes Ross St in the opposite direction. No fix for that other than getting some police on the road.

Is what you describe as “force their way” what everyone else calls merging?

From your description I can’t see what the Police would be doing, except observing motorists following the road rules.

What they also need to do is make the intersection of Boldrewood and Barry Dr left turn only and no right turn from Barry Dr. That intersection is a death waiting for happen as cars try to cross 3+ lanes of traffic and take massive risks when they get frustrated waiting for the large volume of traffic to pass on Barry Dr.

Most of the traffic problems on Barry Drive is a result of the morons who choose the shortest line of traffic then force their way into the other lane of traffic further up, mostly around the form 1 lane after McCaughey St and approaching the bus lane near Clunes Ross St in the opposite direction. No fix for that other than getting some police on the road.

The bigger issue is that insane pedestrian crossing as you turn left onto Barry Drive, how the bodies don’t pile up there daily is one of life’s great mysteries..As with LSWCHP I turn right off Barry drive in the morning and never have to wait long to get onto Clunies Ross, there is never really an issue.

If it were designed so that pedestrians could get across Barry Drive in one go, rather than wait through two cycles of traffic light changes, then there would probably be fewer people dashing across on a red light and risking their lives.

Holden Caulfield said :

The biggest issue I have with that intersection is the time it takes for the lights to turn green when you’re waiting at Clunies Ross St to turn right into Barry Dr.

You’ll really love me for this HC…

I regularly travel down Barry Dr and turn right into Clunies Ross St during morning peak hour, so what you see as a PITA is very beneficial for me. I dunno if you’ve noticed, but the right hand arrow off Barry Drive actually gets two goes for every turn the other way. This allows the right hand turn lane to clear quickly, narrowly avoiding choking up the through lanes on Barry Drive.

Keijidosha said :

The existing bus stop on Barry Drive to the east of the intersection will also be upgraded.

In the interest of safety I hope that the upgrades include a fence down the median strip, forcing pedestrians to cross at the traffic lights. With the number of uni students who currently stroll out into traffic I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a fatality.

I’ve made this suggestion to TAMS/ACTION a few times and haven’t received a response.

I witnessed a pedestrian being struck by a car at that bus stop and I fully agree with your comments, and I have also made the suggestion to TAMS and never received a reply.

I suspect there has been many accidents there, but probably no pedestrian fatalities. Usually it takes a few before proper safety measures are installed.

The existing bus stop on Barry Drive to the east of the intersection will also be upgraded.

In the interest of safety I hope that the upgrades include a fence down the median strip, forcing pedestrians to cross at the traffic lights. With the number of uni students who currently stroll out into traffic I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a fatality.

I’ve made this suggestion to TAMS/ACTION a few times and haven’t received a response.