10 May 2012

Professional roadworks Canberra style

| johnboy
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marcus clarke street

Into the growing mess of Marcus Clarke Street we have a solution to cars queuing to get into the new car parking near Barry Drive.

Just lean a No Right Turn sign on the speed limit pole!

Fixed!

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Roadworkers & professionalism… there lies the problem.

If the workers responsible for putting up the signs had to obey signage posting standards or face possible financial penalties. They may find a lot more Canberra drivers obeying them which would be a good thing.

For example, the past two week at Glenloch interchange Parkway towards the city, there has been roadwork sings saying 80km/h then 60km/h. without a sign of any road work or workers when I drive though at 8am in the morning. It’s like they leave the 60km/h sign up so they don’t need to go put the sign up each time they come onto the site, day or night it’s always there. However, that leads drivers to think nothing is happening so they ignore the speed.

PantsMan said :

TAMSMediaRoom said :

The no-turn-right sign was installed approximately three weeks ago to reinforce the banned right-turn into the recently constructed ANU car park.

An inspection this afternoon indicated that the sign had been vandalised and left at the base of the pole. It is being reinstated.
 
The ANU car park was only given approval for a left lane in/left lane out driveway. The centre line linemarking has also been re-painted to support the signage.

No wonder my taxes are so high when there is clearly a TAMS Central Control Room monitoring The RiotACT for flare-ups and then dispatching the G-Men accordingly.

Oh, and remember that you should not put any other sign on a pole that has a speed sign on it according to some Australian Standard somewhere.

For Pete’s sake, now people are getting fired up at TAMS for responding when issues are raised? I think TAMS is to be congratulated for responding to threads like this. Would you prefer for issues to be ignored unless raised through ‘official channels’?

The reflex reaction of so many on here, that “everything the ACT Government does sucks” and “the ACT Government is to blame for everything”, just wears a bit thin. Just like the fatuous references to “GovCo” and “ACT Government Pty Ltd” etc. (So witty!!)

bd84 said :

Judging by the work that they’ve done by ripping up the median strip (which was a good safety spot for pedestrians) it looks like they’re putting traffic lights at Marcus Clarke and Rudd St, which will be grid lock on Marcus Clarke in peak hour, especially as they can’t synchronise traffic lights to save themselves. I’m sure they will add in more traffic lights for Barry Dr and Kingsley St, so more gridlock. One day they will do some proper planning of these things, instead of just going ahead and doing it.

Actually they are doing a lot of work to install a bus transitway (or something) – I cant quite find the link to the plans but there are new traffic lights in a few places and lots of other stuff. I’m sure someone more useful than me can point you to the right place

TAMSMediaRoom said :

The no-turn-right sign was installed approximately three weeks ago to reinforce the banned right-turn into the recently constructed ANU car park…

TAMS Media Room, do you mind sticking the boot into whoever is responsible for cleaning up this contractor cock up? It’s been this way for 4 months.

Road work signage standards are so poor here in part because works contractors are not financially penalised if they put up signage incorrectly, or put up the incorrect signage.

I reported this one into the ACT Gov’s fix my street website 5 weeks ago, and as of yesterday the sign is still there.

Originally it was an End Road Work sign coupled with a 60 km/h sign… just after the commencement of a school zone… when the normal speed limit on the road was 50 km/h. Someone’s spun the 60 sign around though resulting in the situation in the picture.

Ths incorrect sign has been there since January… road works have long been packed up.

TAMSMediaRoom said :

The no-turn-right sign was installed approximately three weeks ago to reinforce the banned right-turn into the recently constructed ANU car park.

An inspection this afternoon indicated that the sign had been vandalised and left at the base of the pole. It is being reinstated.
 
The ANU car park was only given approval for a left lane in/left lane out driveway. The centre line linemarking has also been re-painted to support the signage.

No wonder my taxes are so high when there is clearly a TAMS Central Control Room monitoring The RiotACT for flare-ups and then dispatching the G-Men accordingly.

Oh, and remember that you should not put any other sign on a pole that has a speed sign on it according to some Australian Standard somewhere.

Interesting, I haven’t seen that post there until the picture here today.. The line marking has a gap in it that contradicts the sign, although doesn’t fully align with the carpark entry. I’d assume for safety, there would also be no right turn from the opposite direction also, so why the line markings are not continuous double unbroken I don’t know. Then they lumped a bus stop right before the left turn at the traffic lights which banks the traffic back behind buses that stop there.

Judging by the work that they’ve done by ripping up the median strip (which was a good safety spot for pedestrians) it looks like they’re putting traffic lights at Marcus Clarke and Rudd St, which will be grid lock on Marcus Clarke in peak hour, especially as they can’t synchronise traffic lights to save themselves. I’m sure they will add in more traffic lights for Barry Dr and Kingsley St, so more gridlock. One day they will do some proper planning of these things, instead of just going ahead and doing it.

TAMSMediaRoom5:46 pm 10 May 12

The no-turn-right sign was installed approximately three weeks ago to reinforce the banned right-turn into the recently constructed ANU car park.

An inspection this afternoon indicated that the sign had been vandalised and left at the base of the pole. It is being reinstated.
 
The ANU car park was only given approval for a left lane in/left lane out driveway. The centre line linemarking has also been re-painted to support the signage.

Bogus No Right Turn signs seem to be common in Canberra. In the Phillip Offices area approaching Woden Library you have to turn right to reach Corinna Street, driving forward goes into the Woden Library carpark. Someone put up a very professional looking No Right Turn sign which most people simply ignored. I knew it was suss because it was printed on honeycombed plastic rather than the regulation metal. After a week or so someone ripped it down and the remnants were left on the side of the road.

It’s as bad as the resurfacing and linemarking on Kings Av southbound where the permanent 70 sign is immediately followed (literally two-three metres) by a 60 roadwork sign yet the work (so it seems) were completed a month ago plus there are no “End Roadwork” signs. And another example is the flashing temporary electronic sign near RMC Duntroon on Moreshead Dr westbound that has a squashed 60 sign. Problem is that it is not legally enforceable because it must be a number inside a red circle. I know the reason is to reduce speed near the temporary shared path but you would think that if it was all about safety that they would put proper signs up and make an effort.

To be fair, the sign was on a pole last week.

But I’m not quite sure why they persist in allowing people to walk 75m up the footpath/cycle path then block it off and make people cross the road. This means people cross the road where there is no pedestrian island. Surely blocking the path off right at the lights would be much safer.

What about the new apartments at the corner of Northbourne and Mouat St – they seem to have car park entries in potentially dangerous locations.

thehutch said :

They need to install barriers down the road to stop cars turning and to provide a safety island for pedestrians.

Cuz that’s be so successful at Canberra Hospital. I wonder how much further down Yamba Drive they’ll have to extend the barrier before people stop turning right across the median strip?

It is only a matter of time before a pedestrian gets collected crossing this road. They need to install barriers down the road to stop cars turning and to provide a safety island for pedestrians. Should also remove those bus stops.

Cue widening the whole road to fit a wee traffic island in front of the entry to stop people trying to turn into it. As long as they do it by piling it on top of all that other road work then expectations will be precisely met…….

someone tried to make a right turn at Marcus Clark Street last night across oncoming traffic and didn’t quite make it…

Holden Caulfield12:00 pm 10 May 12

Having an entry there, so close to the Barry Drive intersection, is a display of incompetence so great it deserves to be awarded.

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