18 February 2011

Crace Rat Run

| Brianna
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Well, once again, here we are talking about the traffic congestion on Gundaroo Drive which runs past the suburb of Crace.

Not only are regular commuters sick of being stuck in the obscene traffic jams in the morning which stretch from Barton Highway round about back to Palmerston, they now have obnoxious pricks people using Crace streets as a rat run to get ahead and beat the waiting traffic.

The mongrels who use the Crace rat run end up exiting Crace at the round about on Abena Avenue. Of course, most drivers caught in the morning congestion have the manners to let these drivers in as they are under the mostly false assumption that those drivers reside in Crace and we feel sorry for them trying to break into such a traffic jam.

If I see someone I know and I know that they don’t live in Crace, manners be buggered. I’d probably give them a single digit salute as I inch past them.

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Gungahlin Al11:41 pm 20 Feb 11

damien haas said :

The ACT Government needs to build a backbone for mass transit public transport that will allow regular commuters to travel in comfort, efficiently and reliably on time, from where they live to where they work (or go to school). Appropriately scaled park and Ride centres would allow people to commute in a timely fashion.

Canberra was designed for a level of car ownership which has been surpassed, building entirely new suburbs serving tens of thousands of new residents without the public transport infrastructure in place (or indeed the road infrastructure) is irresponsible, but also a hallmark of all local governments since self government. It needs to change. The Canberra Transport Plan (long overdue) is meant to address these issues.

Ideally grade separated light rail with integrated bus services for local areas would best serve the public transport needs of Canberra. Despite some positive moves recently, such as the creation of Transport for Canberra putting policy and timetabling responsibilities back in govt hands, other actions such as the fact that the Canberra Transport Plan – which was scheduled for release in first quarter of 2010 and is now a year late – need to be addressed.

I also think that we need to take some responsibility at an individual level. Instead of whining about all the other cars on the roads, when you are sitting in your car alone contributing to the situation, why dont you see if anyone else in your workplace is willing to carpool ? Or you could take the bus, or cycle.

Lastly, roundabouts are built to serve a certain volume of cars performing a certain percentage of turns. Gundaroo Drive has been notoriously overcapacity for several years now, and Crace has simplly added to that . I suggest you lobby the Minister and Roads ACT directly. Whinging on the RiotACT and angry letters to the CT are venting measures, but writing to the people with their hands on the levers of power may prove more useful (or not).

Damien Haas
Chair, ACT Light Rail

+1
Said much the same things in a lengthy post myself, but like a few messages lately, it got cyber-swallowed.

screaming banshee12:45 pm 20 Feb 11

When traffic is light I prefer to travel along Parkes way to the GDE then take the Belco way exit, when its a little heavier I prefer to exit off Parkes to go past ANU and onto Belco way.

Is that queue jumping?

If someone is trying to get ahead by travelling along a lane that continues straight ahead and at the last minute forces their way into a turning lane ala Belco way onto Hayden drive then they are being a right shit.

If there is a form one lane 500m ahead and everyone is queuing up in the right lane and you’re already travelling in the left lane, driving straight to the end of that lane where the designated merge point is to merge is fair and reasonable.

Holden Caulfield said :

Brianna said :

…My problem is not that drivers enter the main road from a side road, my problem is drivers who deliberately dog leg through Crace to avoid the traffic which is already waiting. These drivers expect to get onto the main road to the detriment of the drivers who waited patiently.

So, there’s a perfectly legal alternate route that enables commuters to get to their destination quicker, right; you call it waiting patiently, I call it waiting stupidly.

So it’s okay to jump queues?

Holden Caulfield10:02 am 20 Feb 11

Brianna said :

…My problem is not that drivers enter the main road from a side road, my problem is drivers who deliberately dog leg through Crace to avoid the traffic which is already waiting. These drivers expect to get onto the main road to the detriment of the drivers who waited patiently.

So, there’s a perfectly legal alternate route that enables commuters to get to their destination quicker, right; you call it waiting patiently, I call it waiting stupidly.

screaming banshee9:43 am 20 Feb 11

Agreed, I hate Sydney and would never live there but whenever I have to drive there I appreciate the fact that everyone knows where they are going, knows how to get there, and knows that behaving like a spoilt child does not a fast journey make.

Brianna said :

Pork Hunt said :

EvanJames said :

Similar to the mess that stretches from Qbn to Canberra every morning. Since Canberra Avenue became a car park in the morning, many Qbn-ites use the Oakes Estate Rd to get onto Pialligo Ave. The halt caused by the Fairbairn traffic lights (at the airport) enables these drivers to break into the traffic, which causes a second halt, that has traffic at a standstill right back into Queanbeyan.

It’s pretty galling to be stop-1st gear-stop all the way from spotlight to Oaks Estate Rd and have these characters come sliding up, expecting to be let in, when we’ve been crawling for several KMs. Quite a few drivers do let them in, but I think the penny is starting to drop.

I live near the railway station and access Pialligo Ave just as you describe.

Are you suggesting I drive to the Yass Rd roundabout just so I can join the “end” of the queue?

As it is perfectly legal to enter a main road from a side road, I don’t see what your problem is.

My problem is not that drivers enter the main road from a side road, my problem is drivers who deliberately dog leg through Crace to avoid the traffic which is already waiting. These drivers expect to get onto the main road to the detriment of the drivers who waited patiently.

+1 and this is why on the rare and awful occasion that i do drive to work, i more likely than not do not let these drivers in.

pork hunt, you are correct it is perfectly legal to enter from a side road, but don’t forget it is also a legal requirement on the person entering from the side road (where no entry slip lane exists) to give way to the traffic on the main road. you are relying on the good graces of those on the main road to let you in. and the good graces of those regularly travelling such main roads are usually tested to a point where they have been abused to death.

Brianna said :

Pork Hunt said :

EvanJames said :

Similar to the mess that stretches from Qbn to Canberra every morning. Since Canberra Avenue became a car park in the morning, many Qbn-ites use the Oakes Estate Rd to get onto Pialligo Ave. The halt caused by the Fairbairn traffic lights (at the airport) enables these drivers to break into the traffic, which causes a second halt, that has traffic at a standstill right back into Queanbeyan.

It’s pretty galling to be stop-1st gear-stop all the way from spotlight to Oaks Estate Rd and have these characters come sliding up, expecting to be let in, when we’ve been crawling for several KMs. Quite a few drivers do let them in, but I think the penny is starting to drop.

I live near the railway station and access Pialligo Ave just as you describe.

Are you suggesting I drive to the Yass Rd roundabout just so I can join the “end” of the queue?

As it is perfectly legal to enter a main road from a side road, I don’t see what your problem is.

My problem is not that drivers enter the main road from a side road, my problem is drivers who deliberately dog leg through Crace to avoid the traffic which is already waiting. These drivers expect to get onto the main road to the detriment of the drivers who waited patiently.

You choose to travel at that time on that road knowing full well it’s gonna be chockas, then suck it up princess. So in effect, what you’re saying is that everyone should just blindly queue up on the same road backing up to who knows where, when there are better options available to them?

While we’re on the topic of poor road ettiquette, I’d just like to point out, you seem to imply that you’re in the habit of queueing across roundabouts. While I can’t find a specific law against it, this is the height of bad manners in my books. Definitely more annoying than people trying to shortcut around heavy traffic.

I honestly wonder how people who whine about traffic in Canberra would cope with Sydney, or even peak hour in Adelaide. Oddly enough, with more cars on the road, bigger queues and some insane intersection design, I find Sydney traffic easier to deal with, because while there are still tossers around, on the whole, most peope seem to be resigned to the idea that the traffic sucks and are less inclined to, say for example, queue across the roundabout in front of you and flip you the bird for no discernible reason while you’re trying to go straight through or turn right.

The ACT Government needs to build a backbone for mass transit public transport that will allow regular commuters to travel in comfort, efficiently and reliably on time, from where they live to where they work (or go to school). Appropriately scaled park and Ride centres would allow people to commute in a timely fashion.

Canberra was designed for a level of car ownership which has been surpassed, building entirely new suburbs serving tens of thousands of new residents without the public transport infrastructure in place (or indeed the road infrastructure) is irresponsible, but also a hallmark of all local governments since self government. It needs to change. The Canberra Transport Plan (long overdue) is meant to address these issues.

Ideally grade separated light rail with integrated bus services for local areas would best serve the public transport needs of Canberra. Despite some positive moves recently, such as the creation of Transport for Canberra putting policy and timetabling responsibilities back in govt hands, other actions such as the fact that the Canberra Transport Plan – which was scheduled for release in first quarter of 2010 and is now a year late – need to be addressed.

I also think that we need to take some responsibility at an individual level. Instead of whining about all the other cars on the roads, when you are sitting in your car alone contributing to the situation, why dont you see if anyone else in your workplace is willing to carpool ? Or you could take the bus, or cycle.

Lastly, roundabouts are built to serve a certain volume of cars performing a certain percentage of turns. Gundaroo Drive has been notoriously overcapacity for several years now, and Crace has simplly added to that . I suggest you lobby the Minister and Roads ACT directly. Whinging on the RiotACT and angry letters to the CT are venting measures, but writing to the people with their hands on the levers of power may prove more useful (or not).

Damien Haas
Chair, ACT Light Rail

Pork Hunt said :

EvanJames said :

Similar to the mess that stretches from Qbn to Canberra every morning. Since Canberra Avenue became a car park in the morning, many Qbn-ites use the Oakes Estate Rd to get onto Pialligo Ave. The halt caused by the Fairbairn traffic lights (at the airport) enables these drivers to break into the traffic, which causes a second halt, that has traffic at a standstill right back into Queanbeyan.

It’s pretty galling to be stop-1st gear-stop all the way from spotlight to Oaks Estate Rd and have these characters come sliding up, expecting to be let in, when we’ve been crawling for several KMs. Quite a few drivers do let them in, but I think the penny is starting to drop.

I live near the railway station and access Pialligo Ave just as you describe.

Are you suggesting I drive to the Yass Rd roundabout just so I can join the “end” of the queue?

As it is perfectly legal to enter a main road from a side road, I don’t see what your problem is.

My problem is not that drivers enter the main road from a side road, my problem is drivers who deliberately dog leg through Crace to avoid the traffic which is already waiting. These drivers expect to get onto the main road to the detriment of the drivers who waited patiently.

Holden Caulfield6:42 pm 19 Feb 11

Thoroughly Smashed said :

“These are local roads for local people. They’re not FOR you.”

Have Edward and Tubbs found a no-tail for David yet?

dreamzdestiny said :

Interesting to see no one being harsh on the government here!!
They should be the ones coping all the blame. When coming up with new land developments, they should have made sure that they have proper infrastructure to support that..
Afterall, we are being taxed for all this and the government doesn’t seem to be on their toes.
Maybe it is another can of worms to be opened?

Why, did the government make you move out there?

Growling Ferret5:27 pm 19 Feb 11

wildturkeycanoe said :

Employers should start looking at varying start and finish times so we don’t have everyone trying to get to Civic at exactly the same time.

They tried that in the Parliamentary Triangle by turning the EBB car park into pay parking.

Now the Kings Ave carpark is full at 7:40, Archives 8:15, West Block and Questacon at 9, dirt carpark at the Library at 9:30.

And still nobody pays for parking!

wildturkeycanoe2:24 pm 19 Feb 11

“So yesterday the Australian Research Council announced a $244,000 grant for a three-year study of ant traffic. It is one of 1214 research projects costing $370 million to be funded between next year and 2010.”
“Ants meet their transportation needs without traffic congestion or complex centralised control,” said Martin Burd, a Monash University biologist. “They have no traffic laws, no traffic lights and no traffic police. And yet they are able to organise themselves.”

Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday November 10, 2005
Richard Macey.

Well, it’s been 5 years, what were the results?? Can they apply some instecicoidal techniques to remedy this problem or was this just another waste of taxpayer money?

wildturkeycanoe2:02 pm 19 Feb 11

Employers should start looking at varying start and finish times so we don’t have everyone trying to get to Civic at exactly the same time. I’ve noticed now that even at 6 a.m. there are a lot more cars on the roads than say 5 years ago. Still, things could be worse people, those in Sydney’s west put up with 1 and half hour commutes daily – each way. We’ve still got it pretty easy.

EvanJames said :

Similar to the mess that stretches from Qbn to Canberra every morning. Since Canberra Avenue became a car park in the morning, many Qbn-ites use the Oakes Estate Rd to get onto Pialligo Ave. The halt caused by the Fairbairn traffic lights (at the airport) enables these drivers to break into the traffic, which causes a second halt, that has traffic at a standstill right back into Queanbeyan.

It’s pretty galling to be stop-1st gear-stop all the way from spotlight to Oaks Estate Rd and have these characters come sliding up, expecting to be let in, when we’ve been crawling for several KMs. Quite a few drivers do let them in, but I think the penny is starting to drop.

I live near the railway station and access Pialligo Ave just as you describe.

Are you suggesting I drive to the Yass Rd roundabout just so I can join the “end” of the queue?

As it is perfectly legal to enter a main road from a side road, I don’t see what your problem is.

Thoroughly Smashed2:08 pm 18 Feb 11

“These are local roads for local people. They’re not FOR you.”

What gives me the heebydabageebies is that there is not one major or minor arterial road in Canberra that does not have roadworks on it. You cannot get from gungers to the city, or tuggers to the city, or tuggers to belco, or gungers to woden, or the city to anywhere, without being locked in some sort of gridlock no matter what time of day it is.
Surely da actgubbmint has one logical person (yes, asking a bit much of them) who can see on a map what roads are being affected by these so called “infrastructure” (beggining to really despise this word) improvements, or is a little bit of foresight too much to ask for from them.

I live in Crace and at times have found it very difficult to get out of the suburb if I leave after 7.45am. Most people are nice enough to make some space at the Abena Av roundabout to let me out without waiting too long, but every now and then there are a group of muppets that queue across the roundabout blocking the builders trying to get in and the residents trying to get out (stubbornly pretending they are on a two way road and not at a roundabout).

Usually when I am waiting at the Abena Av roundabout there is only one other car waiting at the same time (and I have usually followed them out of our shared driveway meaning they are also a resident).

Perhaps there is an obnoxious prick or two out there that like to cut through Crace in the morning, but given that sometimes I find it difficult to navigate my street in the morning (due to inconveniently parked construction vehicles) I can’t imagine it would be a whole lot quicker on average.

I’d appreciate it if you didn’t resort to the single digit salute and stuck with the assumption that some of us are residents and do often find it difficult to get onto Gundaroo Drive.

Holden Caulfield11:52 am 18 Feb 11

EvanJames said :

It is pretty amazing how they’ve abrogated responsibility for this, I figure since they started letting developers do the whole thing, they’ve just stepped back. Remember how they set Tuggeranong up for development, years and years before there were any houses in it. At least the Tuggers people have a proper road network, and decent-sized blocks for those who want them. And trees.

Well, trees is a bit harsh, I think you’ll find the trees in Palmerston, Nicholls and Ngunnawal etc are all doing fine no they’re 10+ years old, haha. But you’re right about the road infrastructure in Gungahlin. The arterial roads have never been up to scratch in terms of allowing decent traffic flow.

Erg0 said :

If it’s slower to follow the main road then it’s not a main road any more. Motorists will take the optimal route, it’s the planner’s job to make the motorist want to go the “right” way. As has been pointed out above, this is a failure of government, not of the individual.

+1

If it’s slower to follow the main road then it’s not a main road any more. Motorists will take the optimal route, it’s the planner’s job to make the motorist want to go the “right” way. As has been pointed out above, this is a failure of government, not of the individual.

dreamzdestiny said :

Interesting to see no one being harsh on the government here!!
They should be the ones coping all the blame. When coming up with new land developments, they should have made sure that they have proper infrastructure to support that..

It is pretty amazing how they’ve abrogated responsibility for this, I figure since they started letting developers do the whole thing, they’ve just stepped back. Remember how they set Tuggeranong up for development, years and years before there were any houses in it. At least the Tuggers people have a proper road network, and decent-sized blocks for those who want them. And trees.

Lazy I said :

I need to start using rants like this when I get into the “why would I buy a 30 year old house that needs renovating in an established suburb when I can buy a brand new house for the same price” arguments with people.

I use the “my 30 year old house is on a block twice the size of yours with nice established gardens” argument.

Captain RAAF said :

Fiona said :

You know everyone in your suburb? Hell, you know your neighbours? Crace must be an alternative universe…

Everyone in Crace knows who lives there, they live 3/8’s of inch from eachother!

Think you need personal space? Crace will change that.

dreamzdestiny11:24 am 18 Feb 11

Interesting to see no one being harsh on the government here!!
They should be the ones coping all the blame. When coming up with new land developments, they should have made sure that they have proper infrastructure to support that..
Afterall, we are being taxed for all this and the government doesn’t seem to be on their toes.
Maybe it is another can of worms to be opened?

luther_bendross11:17 am 18 Feb 11

Yeah that’s not optimal, but nor is it illegal. Maybe someone (property owners AND government) should have investigated this prior to building where and how they did. Can’t fault the drivers, they’re just itching for more roads to be yellow in the UBD. Gundaroo Drive should be four lanes, but I’m not looking forward to the ensuing shitfight when they decide to duplicate a la GDE.

I need to start using rants like this when I get into the “why would I buy a 30 year old house that needs renovating in an established suburb when I can buy a brand new house for the same price” arguments with people.

Holden Caulfield10:50 am 18 Feb 11

I’d say it’s pretty simple, why on earth would you sit in stationary, or very slow moving, traffic if there is an alternative and relatively free-flowing route?

Captain RAAF10:34 am 18 Feb 11

Fiona said :

You know everyone in your suburb? Hell, you know your neighbours? Crace must be an alternative universe…

Everyone in Crace knows who lives there, they live 3/8’s of inch from eachother!

You know everyone in your suburb? Hell, you know your neighbours? Crace must be an alternative universe…

Some traffic lights (or even a roundabout) at the intersection of Abena Avenue and Nudurr Drive would be useful. However, the traffic rush is all but non-existant after 09h00. There’s also a perfectly good bike path running parallel to Gundaroo Drive.

I wonder which group of people will complain loudest when Nudurr Drive is connected to Gunghalin Drive…

Similar to the mess that stretches from Qbn to Canberra every morning. Since Canberra Avenue became a car park in the morning, many Qbn-ites use the Oakes Estate Rd to get onto Pialligo Ave. The halt caused by the Fairbairn traffic lights (at the airport) enables these drivers to break into the traffic, which causes a second halt, that has traffic at a standstill right back into Queanbeyan.

It’s pretty galling to be stop-1st gear-stop all the way from spotlight to Oaks Estate Rd and have these characters come sliding up, expecting to be let in, when we’ve been crawling for several KMs. Quite a few drivers do let them in, but I think the penny is starting to drop.

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