19 November 2010

Capital Circle tunnel slowdown

| johnboy
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The NCA is giving a heads up that they’re slowing the Capital Circle tunnel down to 40 and closing a lane while they clean it and change lights:

The National Capital Authority will begin maintenance work this Saturday on Capital Circle Tunnel resulting in changes to traffic arrangements.

The tunnel will be cleaned tomorrow, and broken lamps and electric starters replaced on the following two Saturdays.

During this time, traffic on one lane of the tunnel will be disrupted from 6am to 8pm. Traffic will still be able to flow through the tunnel.

The speed limit through the tunnel will be 40km/h while the work is taking place.

This is going to be every Saturday until 4 December.

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I cycled through there on Saturday Morning (yes yes, wearing lycra, ignoring the witches hats, waving my middle finger at all the cars, blah blah)

Curiosly the cleaning method of choice is…….vacuum cleaners! It was quite a sight seeing big burly blokes vacuuming the walls and roof of the tunnel with their backpack vacuum cleaners (bet they dont do the vacuuming at home!)

I agree with 40kmh zones when there are worker’s on site or there are hazards to road users.

But the underlying question for this particular incident is… “how many NCA workers does it take to change a lightbulb?” 🙂

screaming banshee8:28 pm 20 Nov 10

Mr Gillespie said :

Screaming banshee, perhaps this mass disobedience of hideous, revenue-raising 40 zones is a sign of how frivolous they are (I mean a nice $1800 ticket for doing 85 which is 45 over the alleged speed limit (which is normally 80 and you really only should get done for less than 15km/h over) is an excellent potential revenue-raiser for Stanhope’s deep pockets, no?)

Alleged speed limit? Frivolous? You really are a f*cking idiot.

Those of you complaining about construction work 40km/h zones need to regain some perspective, and possibly also apply some lateral thinking. These speed limits are not just in place for the obvious reason of protecting the workers in the construction site. In my relatively short involvement with construction projects I have seen 40km/h zones put in place for two other reasons.

1. For each speed limit there is a legislated minimum lane width. If the works reduce the lane width below the minimum for 60km/h, a 40km/h zone must be implemented.

2. Crash barriers are designed to move or deflect under impact. Each type of barrier has different deflections, but take this example: A concrete F-type barrier is designed (when properly installed) to deflect 400mm under an impact of an average motor vehicle travelling at 40km/h and impacting at an angle of 25 degrees. (from memory anyway) At 60km/h, obviously this deflection will be greater. If the items being protected by the crash barrier are in the region of 400-500mm behind the barrier, 40km/h is the safe limit. A limit of 60km/h increases the risk of a crash damaging the items behind the barrier, and in the case of electrical, gas, or even water infrastructure works is a recipe for a real bad time for all involved.

I would like to make one further point, that even if you do disagree with the implementation of a 40km/h limit through a construction site after hours, that is no excuse to hoon through at whatever speed you like while there are blokes (and blokettes for that matter) working in the area. It puts their lives at risk and makes you look like a tool. No one wins, unless you count getting where you’re going about 15 seconds sooner and saving a few microns of brake pad wear a win.

I think at least one reason for the contempt with which so many people treat construction zone speed limits is that so many of them aren’t – more often than not, there’s no construction going on at all. In my experience most people are happy to slow down where there’s actually work going on, but where there’s no sign of anything happening it’s hardly surprising that people don’t take any notice of the signs.

Mr Gillespie said :

Screaming banshee, perhaps this mass disobedience of hideous, revenue-raising 40 zones is a sign of how frivolous they are (I mean a nice $1800 ticket for doing 85 which is 45 over the alleged speed limit (which is normally 80 and you really only should get done for less than 15km/h over) is an excellent potential revenue-raiser for Stanhope’s deep pockets, no?)

The mass ignorance of Canberrans when it comes to road work zones is not helped by the ACT Gov’s and their contractor’s overzealous use of 40km/h signs, or indeed the ACT Gov’s horrendous speed limit posting policies in general.

Road work zones that are marked at 60km/h, like much of Glenloch at the moment, I have zero problem with… however I appear to be one of the few… most drivers appear to ignore the limit altogether. A 30-40km/h speed in a road work zone ensures a significantly higher chance of survival should a road worker stumble into a trafficable lane, or should a motor vehicle driver become confused and inadvertently hit a road worker in a closed lane.

However posting the limit at 40km/h ~500m prior to, and ~500 meters after any sign of road work, 24 hours a day, when the only sign of road works are red cones placed on the nature strip, breeds resentment… people start to ignore the limits… funny that…

Then it is only a matter of time before Stanhope is on the airwaves tutting at the public with his annoying air of self-superiority, announcing that the only way to slow down those Canberrans who choose to speed through road work zones is to increase penalties that aren’t working, further extend the length of road work speed limit zones that aren’t working, and random beatings with sacks of oranges.

screaming banshee said :

Look, another 40kph zone for Canberra drivers to ignore and speed through, yay!

Dont worry, the police will be enforcing speed limits, or at least driving past a couple of times to make sure the signs are still up.

Mr Gillespie12:24 am 20 Nov 10

Screaming banshee, perhaps this mass disobedience of hideous, revenue-raising 40 zones is a sign of how frivolous they are (I mean a nice $1800 ticket for doing 85 which is 45 over the alleged speed limit (which is normally 80 and you really only should get done for less than 15km/h over) is an excellent potential revenue-raiser for Stanhope’s deep pockets, no?)

screaming banshee3:47 pm 19 Nov 10

Look, another 40kph zone for Canberra drivers to ignore and speed through, yay!

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