Upgrades for Southern Cross Drive

Most of the PVC marking posts have all been ripped up and are lying on the ground as of today. I can only assume some asshats have in the night ripped them all up.

Tony said :

If people actually did the posted speed limit of 60, it would be much safer.
50%+ of cars/trucks on that road exceed the limit.

Most correct, cars speeding down Southern Cross heading west is the major cause there, couple with traffic volumes that make it hard to turn right out of Florey and Starke streets. The roundabout should slow the vehicles coming from Belconnen and provide a better break in the traffic to allow vehicles to get out of Florey and Stark.

As for the plastic pipes that have popped up they are surveyors marks for sure. Never seen a site done like this before, normally they are wooden pegs. Maybe the surveyors thought the pegs would get pinched, especially as actual construction isn’t meant to start until next year. Though considering they are saying it will open in April, I reckon construction will start earlier.

PS someone better tell TAMS that the area where the roadworks is happening is no where near West Macgregor, in fact West Macgregor contrary to what some believe doesn’t exist as a suburb, the suburb is Macgregor and the area where the roundabout is being built is on the border between Holt and (old) Macgregor and was needed well before the new part of Macgregor was built.

Gerry-Built said :

A lot of coloured PVC pipe sticking out of the ground around there… wonder if it is related? Seems too early considering the news is just out…

I am trying to work that one out as well, there are a hell of a lot of little multi-cooured pipes sticking out of the ground. My first reaction was more wasted money on an roadside public art project, but no, it looked too cheap.

A lot of coloured PVC pipe sticking out of the ground around there… wonder if it is related? Seems too early considering the news is just out…

If people actually did the posted speed limit of 60, it would be much safer.
50%+ of cars/trucks on that road exceed the limit.

Jim Jones said :

Travelling through that intersection when it’s busy is really nervy, you never know if someone is gonna jump out in front of you.

Thumper said :

I refuse to ride my motorbike through that intersection. Just not worth being scraped off the road and shovelled into a coffin.

thatsnotme said :

The worst thing about these intersections – particularly the Starke St one – is that they were massive blind spots. If you were turning out of Starke St onto Southern Cross, traffic turning into Starke St using the slip lane would completely block your view of any traffic that was heading straight through.

Yep. I created a story about these intersections a while back. They are terrible. I drive past Starke Street at no more than than 40 km/h…. this has saved me more than once, as people pull out despite the fact that other cars at the intersection cause blind spots that mean they are pulling out without any idea of oncoming traffic. Only yesterday I was driving through with some out-of-town friends and commenting on how dangerous the intersection was when some muppet pulled out right in front of me and forced me to slam on my brakes,

People using this intersection don’t help matters, as they get aggressive and beep their horns at people who have the audacity to wait until they can see whether or not it is safe to pull out, or tailgate the crap out of others who drive through the intersection at a reasonable speed.

I definitely agree with the argument that bad drivers cause accidents, not bad roads; however, bad roads make bad drivers even more dangerous.

Keijidosha said :

Not before time, however if the “upgrades” don’t include an extension of the existing dual carriageway to a point somewhere west of Starke street then it will be a collosal waste of money.

So business as usual then…

Keijidosha said :

Not before time, however if the “upgrades” don’t include an extension of the existing dual carriageway to a point somewhere west of Starke street then it will be a collosal waste of money.

I posted a link to information about this upgrade in the Black Spots Funding story, and the info there suggested that the Southern Cross / Florey Drive roundabout would be two lanes, while the Starke St one would be single lane. So it sounds like the duel carriageway will at least extend to the Florey Dr roundabout, but won’t go any further than that.

The worst thing about these intersections – particularly the Starke St one – is that they were massive blind spots. If you were turning out of Starke St onto Southern Cross, traffic turning into Starke St using the slip lane would completely block your view of any traffic that was heading straight through.

‘Increased use due to Macgregor West’ is a cop out though. These intersections have been terrible for years, long before Macgregor West had any residents.

Thumper said :

Meh, a set of lights would at least stop all the accidents that happen at that intersection. I agree that there may be more creative, better ways of addressing the problem. But I’d be thankful just for traffic lights. Travelling through that intersection when it’s busy is really nervy, you never know if someone is gonna jump out in front of you.

I refuse to ride my motorbike through that intersection. Just not worth being scraped off the road and shovelled into a coffin.

Yep. One of the recent deaths down there was a motorcyclist. Very sad.

Meh, a set of lights would at least stop all the accidents that happen at that intersection. I agree that there may be more creative, better ways of addressing the problem. But I’d be thankful just for traffic lights. Travelling through that intersection when it’s busy is really nervy, you never know if someone is gonna jump out in front of you.

I refuse to ride my motorbike through that intersection. Just not worth being scraped off the road and shovelled into a coffin.