14 August 2013

Alistair Coe unable to use roads?

| johnboy
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In astonishing news the Liberals’ Alistair Coe has announced that the lack of coordination in roadworks has rendered him immobile!

ACT Shadow Minister for Urban Services Alistair Coe is today calling on the Government to ensure that roadworks are undertaken in a coordinated manner to stop traffic problems that are foreseeable and avoidable. Mr Coe said the ACT Government has a poor track record for coordinating roadworks throughout Canberra.

It is often far too difficult for commuters to use Canberra roads because of the Governments lack of care in organising roadworks in the same areas,” Mr Coe said today.

(Emphasis mine)

He does have a point though, we can surely do the roadworks better?

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Re#25, how about I start with lines of sight at intersections being ruined by those plastic water filled barriers, or the failure to warn that there is a one lane arrangement on the other side of a crest. These are two current gripes, sorry I dont have a dashcam yet to illustrate – Choice recommended none.

I find it difficult to use the footpaths on my street.
This is not because the paths are clogged by footpathworks.
I have to walk at least 200 metres along the road just to get to the nearest footpath.

JC said :

tuco said :

JC said :

PS what major roadworks do we have now? All I can think of is Parkes Way and the Majura Parkway. They seem far enough away to be separate and have roadworks free alternative routings. So what the fark is he on about.

I welcome this view. From now on, all references can be made to “all I can think of” rather than any actual research. After all, people can use facts to prove almost anything that is even remotely true.

Really if that is all you could contribute to the discussion why the hell did you bother?

But for the record I don’t drive on every bit of road in Canberra. There are stretches of roads I go no where near, most of Tuggeranong and Weston Creek for example. There may well be road works down there, but I don’t know about them, hence my comment all I can think of. So really think you twit.

So, you comment on things, which, by your own admission, you know nothing about. Yet you call me a twit? So is my twitness status something you know about; something you think of, or something else? You can’t have it both ways, and hope for your comments to be valued when you admit don’t know what you are talking about.

bigred said :

Mr Coe is getting close to a real issue here, which is the unsafe management of the roadworks. How the traffic management plans for these ever get approved is of huge concern.

He is no where near that issue, he is just having a whinge because he thinks by whinging he is being seen to be doing something.

PS what is unsafe about the traffic management plans?

c_c™ said :

Oh Alistair, as if you really have trouble getting your tricycle through peak-hour traffic.

That’s just *bwutal*, Uniboy.

Sword said :

bundah said :

Sword said :

good infrustructure

Really? well it would appear some are satisfied with borderline mediocrity..

Move to Sydney Mate they have superior roads and less traffic jams…trust me, you’ll love it there…

Ha sarcasm noted however Sydney is too big and dirty for my liking.

Just to clarify it’s not the infrastructure that’s so much the issue i’ve had it’s the methodology applied by those cracking the whip. The obvious reason that roadworks take an eternity in this town is that there are always insufficient workers and machinery to get the job done quickly and efficiently and the problem is exacerbated due to the fact that quite often too many projects are running simultaneously. This has been the modus operandi for as long as I can remember and until there’s a change in mindset peeps will continue to, quite justifiably, whinge re slowmo roadworks.

Mr Coe is getting close to a real issue here, which is the unsafe management of the roadworks. How the traffic management plans for these ever get approved is of huge concern.

tuco said :

JC said :

PS what major roadworks do we have now? All I can think of is Parkes Way and the Majura Parkway. They seem far enough away to be separate and have roadworks free alternative routings. So what the fark is he on about.

I welcome this view. From now on, all references can be made to “all I can think of” rather than any actual research. After all, people can use facts to prove almost anything that is even remotely true.

Really if that is all you could contribute to the discussion why the hell did you bother?

But for the record I don’t drive on every bit of road in Canberra. There are stretches of roads I go no where near, most of Tuggeranong and Weston Creek for example. There may well be road works down there, but I don’t know about them, hence my comment all I can think of. So really think you twit.

bundah said :

Sword said :

good infrustructure

Really? well it would appear some are satisfied with borderline mediocrity..

Move to Sydney Mate they have superior roads and less traffic jams…trust me, you’ll love it there…

Sword said :

good infrustructure

Really? well it would appear some are satisfied with borderline mediocrity..

This is utter rubbish…It’s pure politics and nothing else…

If the price of good infrustructure is a little inconvenience then so be it…

JC said :

PS what major roadworks do we have now? All I can think of is Parkes Way and the Majura Parkway. They seem far enough away to be separate and have roadworks free alternative routings. So what the fark is he on about.

I welcome this view. From now on, all references can be made to “all I can think of” rather than any actual research. After all, people can use facts to prove almost anything that is even remotely true.

bundah said :

I think he’s referring to the last couple of years where there were roadworks at Barry Drive, Parkes Way, Cotter Road, Streeton Drive, Fyshwick Monaro Hwy overpass, Wentworth Ave and a few smaller repairs. Some of these roadworks have taken what seems like an eternity which is not surprising given that i’ve experienced what I can only refer to as consistent ‘slow motion’ roadworks over the last 40 years on Canberra roads.

Think your right, but he is referring to it in the present, and of course he raised this same issues a few months back. As mentioned the Libs are just happy to continuously whinge but never offer up any alternative one reason why they won’t get my vote (in the ACT or federally) until such time as they can demonstrate they are fit to rule.

And when it comes to roadworks if the government delayed a project due to another project you can bet they would be whinging about that too.

Oh I see today the whinge of the day is speed limits. Tomorrow pot holes, then the next day it will be a budget blow out as they have had to spend too much on fixing pot holes then who knows what.

Even if he has a point, and roadworks going forward were better coordinated so that numerous routes to the same place weren’t being worked on at once, I don’t think it’d make a bit of difference.

For example, there was a long time when the Parkes Way widening was happening at the same time as the Barry Drive bus lane work heading into the city. Both major routes into the City from Belconnen.

So if only one had been happening, and everyone heading into town had heeded the ‘use alternative route’ signs, the road that wasn’t being worked on – and that was near capacity during peak hour already – would have been just as slow as if there were roadworks happening on it. Parkes Way has been a basket case for anyone heading from Belconnen for a long time now – and I don’t actually think it got a whole lot worse during the roadworks.

In the end though, if the ACT Government were to to make an effort to spread out roadworks so that multiple routes somewhere weren’t being worked on, Canberran drivers would need to figure out how to drive in traffic in such a way that the traffic could still flow. Things like letting people merge. Leaving a gap so that when traffic slows you don’t have to brake suddenly. And heaven forbid, letting people change lanes in front of you.

There’s no point leaving a road ‘roadwork free’ if the drivers on it are just going to cause the traffic snarls that roadworks would have provided anyway.

Canberroid said :

c_c™ said :

Oh Alistair, as if you really have trouble getting your tricycle through peak-hour traffic.

Yes, how dare someone have a say in politics before they become old and cranky. We clearly should leave all decisions up to baby boomers, given their terrific track record.

Well typically when we have roadworks our commute is still a fraction of most other cities.

And when we build or expand roads, it doesn’t mean razing people’s homes.

And we don’t have toll roads to pay for the improvements.

Sure they could get this work done quicker, and they should, but better to get it all over and done with frankly. This sounds like Alistair hadn’t sent out a media release for a month and needed something to whinge about.

JC said :

PS what major roadworks do we have now? All I can think of is Parkes Way and the Majura Parkway. They seem far enough away to be separate and have roadworks free alternative routings. So what the fark is he on about.

I think he’s referring to the last couple of years where there were roadworks at Barry Drive, Parkes Way, Cotter Road, Streeton Drive, Fyshwick Monaro Hwy overpass, Wentworth Ave and a few smaller repairs. Some of these roadworks have taken what seems like an eternity which is not surprising given that i’ve experienced what I can only refer to as consistent ‘slow motion’ roadworks over the last 40 years on Canberra roads.

Did Alistair drop his dummy while mummy was driving him to ‘Young’ Liberal pre-school today?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd10:51 pm 14 Aug 13

I dislike Coe pretty hard but totally agree with him on this. Leaving or entering Weston creek to/from north side is a nightmare.

PS what major roadworks do we have now? All I can think of is Parkes Way and the Majura Parkway. They seem far enough away to be separate and have roadworks free alternative routings. So what the fark is he on about.

This oxygen thief raised this very issue about 2 months back. Next week he will be on about dead running on buses and then maybe dig up some more old news before recycling it all. Guess any negative comment to attempt to make the government look bad. Guess it must be in the Liberal play book, as old mate Abbott is doing the same, take pink bats for example.

Now this coupled with their antics over the ACT budget and they wonder why they didn’t win the last election and here is hopping the rest of Aus keeps Tony out of the lodge too.

c_c™ said :

Oh Alistair, as if you really have trouble getting your tricycle through peak-hour traffic.

Yes, how dare someone have a say in politics before they become old and cranky. We clearly should leave all decisions up to baby boomers, given their terrific track record.

Pork Hunt said :

bundah said :

The gummint coordinate roadworks??? Are you kidding, they wouldn’t know if their arses were on fire..

Maybe Zed’s spot should have gone to Val Jeffrey…he’d know.

Yeah he’d be able to coordinate roadworks and organise a firebreak to extinguish any potential friction!

bundah said :

The gummint coordinate roadworks??? Are you kidding, they wouldn’t know if their arses were on fire..

Maybe Zed’s spot should have gone to Val Jeffrey…he’d know.

The gummint coordinate roadworks??? Are you kidding, they wouldn’t know if their arses were on fire..

You know what, I agree with Alistair Coe. Whilst I’m sure commuters don’t find it too difficult to use Canberra’s roads, the absolute lack of coordination around major road works along major arterial’s is something which should be addressed.

For a while there all 3 major arterial roads connecting the south side to the city had some form of roadwork happening along it. Whilst of course they say that they don’t do road work during peak hours, there is still the problem that during peak hour there is both reduced speed limits and often a loss of lanes causing massive bottle necks.

does he still wear shoes that do up with velcro?

In next weeks press release Alastair will lobby the government to ban shoelaces, because velcro is so much easier.

Oh Alistair, as if you really have trouble getting your tricycle through peak-hour traffic.

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