There's No Accounting for Stupidity

As soon as Wiltshire sees the first flecks of golden sunshine in the Spring, SWMBO takes it upon herself - and every other hale and hearty individual within easy grabbing distance - to remodel WiSBAng Towers - or at least the garden.   It also means that yours truly gets called upon to head for Amesbury and the tip  to get rid of all that old clutter that has been waiting outside the kitchen door for just such an opportunity.

It was Mother's Day as well, so how could I possibly refuse such a request?  I couldn't, could I?

Car duly laden with rubbish - the greatest volume being all those non-bottle plastic containers that are eminently recyclable, but which Wiltshire Council haven't the wit to recycle - off I went.

Not the actual event!

The first hurdle was, of course, Longbarrow Roundabout, the A303 was almost empty as I approached in the middle lane (the far left hand one is way too hard to negotiate at anything over 20mph) , the car behind appeared to want to go to Salisbury as he kept to the far right.  The car coming south on the A360 from Shrewton, carrying Mr and Mrs Miggins on a nice day out in the country, clearly expected me to go north onto the A360, so lurched onto the roundabout, intending to go left onto the A303.  Mr Miggins panicked when he saw me still heading east and pulled into the right-hand exit lane onto the A303 - as if to give me a bit of room - I moved left to avoid him.

That might have been alright - except Brain Dead Brian in the blue Astra who had appeared to want to go to Salisbury, had in fact headed straight across the roundabout at high speed - only to find Mr Miggins doing 20 mph in his path. Oh, dear.  What could Brain Dead Brian do?  Pull left in front of me and try and undertake Mr Miggins of course.   It didn't work.  Mr Miggins saw the blue Astra in his rear view mirror and also pulled into the left hand lane.  Thankfully, no contact was made.

As we drew alongside Stonehenge, Mr Miggins stopped - not on the roadside, but bang in the middle of the carriageway.  Brain Dead Brian kept his hand on the horn for some time - the first responsible thing he had done.  Mr Miggins took notice and slowly drove down into Stonehenge Bottom - before predictably, trying to turn on to the verge.  

I say trying, as he clearly didn't have enough revs to get over the kerb and so started rolling backwards towards Brian.   Brian, Brain Dead to the last, pulled onto the westbound carriageway, almost headlong into a small camper van.  Again, for the second time, a near miss.

The rest of the trip and my time at the tip was almost uneventful.  Going home, we had to slow to a crawl to allow a driver to take a snap of the stones - if it appears on Twitter, I'll post it here with the name of the photographer attached!   We then came to a standstill as 3 cars in convoy decided to turn right, then left, then not bother at Byway 12.

When I finally got home, SWMBO asked if would like to make a second trip.  I gracefully declined!

On Trying To Make A Silk Purse From A Pig's Ear

It has been apparent, since the closure of the A344 last summer and the opening of English Heritage's new Stonehenge Visitor's Centre back in December 2013, that the summer of 2014 stood a great chance of becoming an annus horribilis; as far as the A303 is concerned.  All in all, it's a bit of a pig's ear.

There are several factors that either together, or singly, could prove a nightmare:

1)   Closure of the A344 has caused additional westbound traffic on the A303 to pass Stonehenge before having the opportunity to leave the A303 to go and see the stones. Whereas lots of people once stopped on the A344, or in the old Stonehenge carpark for a few minutes for a quick look at the stones before they continued their journey, they now don't have that opportunity.  So now they slow down on the A303 as they pass Stonehenge to take a quick photo.  All too often it is the driver doing this - dumb people on smart phones.  Just take a look on Twitter to see the number of folks who do it.

Here is one taken on March 21st - though we've no idea if this one was taken by a driver or a passenger.

2)  The design of Countess Roundabout at Amesbury is still a problem, as east-west traffic still stops on it at peak periods - blocking north-south movement.

3) Frustrated by the A344 closure and egged-on by insistent satnavs, some drivers have taken to turning off the A303,  just west of Stonehenge Bottom,  on to Byway 12.  Signage has been used to discourage right turns, but blow-me-down, some 'enterprising' drivers (including local taxi drivers) have taken to turning left off the A303 and either turning round and crossing the A303, or even reversing across the A303 to comply with the turning restrictions.

4)  The Highway Agency A303 diversionary sign on the westbound A303, just before Longbarrow roundabout,  has already caused chaos on at least three occasions since Christmas, when the A303 was closed due to flood or accident.  The signs take westbound travellers off the A303, onto the A360, towards the Stonehenge Visitor's centre - and there the "follow the black triangle" route vanishes.  STAG have rescued a number of lost travellers on the infinite loop between Longbarrow and Airman's Cross in recent months.

5)  The design of the new Longbarrow Roundabout is still contributing to westbound and eastbound tailbacks.  Too many approach lanes and badly thought out approach and exit corridors.  The Highway Agency is already on design 3  and it's still a mess.

6)  When too many folks turn up at Stonehenge, traffic backs up onto the A360, blocking it in both directions.  This effect could be exacerbated by the new Stonehenge booking system.  If jams do occur, then people may miss their booked slots, face not being admitted, and adding to congestion on the A303 before sitting outside Stonehenge on the A360 - eager to vent their spleens in the direction of English Heritage.

7)  People are people.  Even though English Heritage have introduced a booking system, people are still going to turn up on spec - the English Heritage website even points this out as a possibility for those who haven't booked - so turn up they will.  Not to mention the 30,000 locals who are entitled to free entrance and who certainly won't book.  What will they all do and where will they go when they find they can't get on to the Stonehenge site?  They'll roam the local roads to find anywhere they can dump their cars and walk - creating additional congestion and chaos.  A lot of these opportunistic sites are closer to the stones than the Visitor's Centre - and they are free.

8)  To avoid the jams on the A303, travellers are trying any and all alternative routes past Stonehenge, placing additional pressures on small country roads and villages  never intended for such levels of use.  If it continues, the chances are some poor innocent is going to be killed or injured as a result.

9)  When we don't have the jams and congestion, we have speeding through the local villages - particularly Shrewton on the A360 and Winterbourne Stoke on the A303.

10)  We didn't even mention the additional traffic the new distribution centre at Solstice Park and the Army re-basing exercise are going to throw into the equation - but it isn't going to make life any easier.

We all know the long-term answer - dual the A303 and somehow get it past Stonehenge.  All well and good, but it isn't going to happen soon.  We need to do something before the summer.

Recognising this, Inspector Christian Lange of Wiltshire Police called a meeting last night to bring together all the stakeholders: English Heritage, the Highways Agency, Wiltshire Council, local Parish Council's, the National Trust, English Nature, STAG and others (apologies to any we haven't mentioned) to try and identify any measures that might alleviate the situation.

A brave idea, given the depth of feeling and one that could have easily been rail-roaded, but Christian chaired a good meeting.  At the end of the day though, it is trying to make something of a silk purse out of a pig's ear.

Once we had got beyond the "English Heritage created this mess and it's up to them to sort it out" mentality, we did get a few good ideas and some less good ones.  Broadly they were:

Try signage from the A303 exit of the M3, through to Longbarrow, to warn when there are no parking slots at Stonehenge - but these would need to be reactive enough to allow for sudden changes in parking availability at Stonehenge.

Try and sort out the A360 issues as close to the Stonehenge as possible - with English Heritage looking into planning permission for additional overspill car-parking spaces, or renting adjacent fields.  The Highways Agency were keen to not move the problem onto the roads, but to deal with it as close to the source - the Stonehenge Visitore's Centre - as possible.

There was a suggestion of using a TRO to close Byway 12.  This could be done for up to 18 months.  This is one we are dead against without a legal undertaking, by English Heritage and the WHS, to NOT pursue the permanent closure of Byway 12.  We also proposed other measures to prevent most vehicular traffic from using the route.   A compromise should be possible, but closure by diktat is a recipe for grief.

There was an idea to intentionally route westbound Stonehege traffic towards Durrington at Countess Roundabout and then through Larkhill along the Packway t- o approach Stonehenge from the Bustard junction.   As you might imagine, this wasn't at all popular with local councillors.  However, it does make you wonder if enough thought is being given to using Woodhenge and Durrington Walls as diversionary holding areas?  As it is only intended as an interim measure, could there be compromise here as well?

There has been a suggestion that English Heritage puts up some sort earth bund or sight screen to prevent Stonehenge being seen from the A303 - which might keep the traffic on the A303 flowing a little better.  English Heritage have rejected this idea as it conflicts with the World Heritage Site Management Plan to return the area to open downland.  Of course, we aren't talking a permanent solution here, just interim measures to solve a short-term (hopefully) problem.  Again, some lateral thinking is needed here.  If EH aren't prepared to shield the road from Stonehenge, then the Highways Agency should erect sight screens on their side of the fence outside the World Heritage site to shield Stonehenge from the road - giving WHS a legally enforceable assurance that these would be removed, once the A303 issue is resolved.  Another opportunity for compromise?   

UPDATE 1: We've been advised that as the World Heritage Site encompasses both sides of the fence, unilateral action by the Highways Agency is out of the question.

UPDATE 2: Life, of course, is never simple.  Ownership of the land that would need to be screened from the A303 is mainly English Heritage/DCMS.  The National Trust would be involved if screening was needed east of Stonehenge Bottom.  However, ownership of the A303 -and what constitutes the road, would seem to be the the real issue here.  So whilst EH/DCMS own the subsoil under the northern side of the A303 and probably the air above it,  the Highways Agency effectively owns the road bed and "the top two spits" down.  That's enough to keep the road bed repaired, install drainage under it and signage and safety features (eg. Armco barriers) alongside it.  What we are proposing here is another safety feature. 

Regardless of the rights and wrongs,  we still feel that EH and WHS should be encouraged to compromise on this temporary issue.   They could still make an offer to do this before the Area Board meeting on 27th March.

We also looked at solutions for the other problem of slowing the traffic on the A303 - particularly through Winterbourne Stoke.  Wiltshire Council and the Police have an initiative for local A roads, but it is the Highways Agency that will need to engage with us and the Police to sort it out on the A303.  The Highways Agency insist the A303 at this point is in an "urban setting"'  As such, there should be a 20mph max as it passes by the requisite number of dwellings to meet government guidelines for this.  Another compromise perhaps - lower the speed limit to 30mph and introduce some traffic calming measures instead?

OK, if we are honest, none of these measures will solve the problem entirely on their own and even if they are all implemented, they are, at best, only going to ease things - and we have no idea by how much.  We also need to be realistic about what measures Wiltshire Police has the legal basis, manpower, or even inclination to enforce. But if we don't at least try, at best the local villagers are going to have a horrendous summer.  At worst, the road casualty figures may increase.

It's going to take some rapid action, an awful lot of co-operation and, inevitably, compromise by all parties including English Heritage and the World Heritage Site.  That's short term compromise to solve immediate issues and compromises that might help provide a longer term solution to the long-term A303 problems and World Heritage Site aspirations.

The next few weeks are going to be very instructive indeed, particularly in view of the A303 feasibility study.  If that compromise can be achieved, then Inspector Lange will have achieved a minor miracle.  We wish him well.

Close, But No Cigar!

Those of you who frequently travel the A303, west-bound through Winterbourne Stoke, may have noticed a new feature that has appeared on a lamp standard on the northern side of the carriageway between the Bell Inn - purveyors of fine breakfasts and other comestibles and the Stonehenge Filling Station - vendors of Murco fuels and more besides.

It's a bit hard to spot and perhaps we should add a large fluorescent arrow in real life to draw attention to its presence.  We have a speed board - just to emphasise that Winterbourne Stoke is a 40 mph limit.

Some of these boards are powered by mains - usually from the lamp standard on which they are mounted.  Others are solar, or wind powered.  The rest are battery powered - and I would guess that this is one of those.  Battery life is limited by the number of vehicles passing the sign and causing it to light up and flash.  Needless to say, there is quite a bit of traffic on the A303, so the sign has been busy.  When I went down to the A303 at lunchtime today, the sign was dead.  More deceased than the deadest Norwegian Blue parrot.  Pity that.  It is unlikely to be working in time to flash at the travelling public as they head to the South West on the Highway to Hell this weekend.  So, whoever erected the sign came close to doing something useful, but on this occasion, gets no cigar.  I think a mains-powered variant may be called for.

However, even over the last couple of days, the sign has managed to shock one villager.  He's worked alongside the A303 for several years and should be pretty unshockable when it comes to the idiotic behaviour of some drivers.  We encounter them every day - the HGV drivers who are travelling so fast they set fire to their brakes when they try, and frequently fail, to stop in time for the pedestrian crossing; the BMW driver who overtakes on the double white lines, or white-van man who insists on blocking the access to the one road into the village.

So why was our friend so shocked?  He spotted the sign registering 72mph.

And people wonder why we want a bypass!

John Glen's A303 Blitzkrieg Continues

In yesterday's post we promised to provide more detail on the Commons debate on the A303 yesterday.  As John Glen MP has done a stirling job in putting it on his own blog, there seems little point in duplicating his effort.

So, look here for the details of the debate.

One extract from John's blog that bears repeating here, as it sums up the feelings of many in STAG and in the villages alongside the A303, the A358 and the A30, of all political persuasions, is this:

My constituents have been promised so much on this issue by many Ministers over many years; sadly, they have been let down every time. I am determined that they will not be let down again. I ask the Minister to commit today to ensuring that our hopes for the A303 can become a reality. I know that he is a plain-speaking Yorkshireman. I look for plain speaking in his response to us Wiltshire folk, who are fed up with constant words and little action.

Here, here, John!  Here, here.

John has also written an article for Politics Home yesterday on the A303, which is here, and his column in the Salisbury Journal this week will also focus on it. He was with BBC Wiltshire this morning and he will be continuing to speak to journalists today across a range of media.

We've heard mutterings in some quarters that WiSBAng must be a Tory mouthpiece, given the amount of coverage we have given to John Glen in recent weeks.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The person hanging over our shoulders as we write this was very active in running the campaign of one of John's competitors at the last general election and curses every time we thank John.  Frankly, this is an issue that transcends party politics.

The bottom line is that we will continue to support all those who make a positive contribution to solving this longstanding problem and we will bring to task those who are "all wind and piss" like some of the tanyard Tories of Wiltshire Council - as James Joyce might have phrased it and probably phrased it better even than John Glen :)  As we said, this issue transcends party politics, so we will be equally snarky about Lazy Lib-Dems, Useless UKIPs, Gormless Greens and Lacklustre Labourites. Praise will be equally fairly distributed.

Some Positive Rumblings From the House of Commons

After a day of Press interest in the STAG campaign to get the A303 dualled as quickly as possible, with reports on the BBC's South Today this morning, we now have a report from STAG's very own man inside the Palace of Westminster.

Our intrepid correspondent observed:

"In short, a positive session in which all agreed the imperative economic need, but many procedural hoops to jump through before we know what the consultation will bring.

There is a general view that a long bore tunnel is much more achievable/acceptable now than it was 10 years ago: financially, technically, socially and archaeologically."






We hope to have more a detailed review in the morning.

Our correspondent ended with the following point.  "Our MP, John Glen, did us proud today!"  Nice to be able to say something like this.

John also forwarded the following update from the Roads Minister, Robert Goodwill:

It will be interesting to see the metrics they propose to use to measure cost benefits - and how they propose to reconcile purely financial factors with less tangible, but equally relevant ones.