City among most congested in UK (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Southampton among ten most congested cities in UK
10:03am Monday 3rd October 2011 in Travel
By Chris Yandell, Chief Reporter, New Forest
Traffic on the A35
DRIVERS have known it for years but now it’s official – Southampton is one of the most congested places in the UK.
Most congested
1 London
2 Edinburgh
3 Oxford
4 Belfast
5 Bradford
6 Manchester
7 Birmingham
8 Aberdeen
9 Southampton
10 Nottingham
A new survey has placed it ninth in a league table of Britain’s most trafficchoked cities, with bigger jams even than Liverpool, Leeds and Leicester.
Southampton has also seen the fourth biggest increase in traffic over the past six months.
The findings, which will come as no surprise to the area’s long-suffering motorists, have been published by satnav firm TomTom.
But Southampton City Council has challenged the report, claiming its conclusions have been “hugely distorted” by geographical factors.
TomTom says London is Britain’s most congested city, followed by Edinburgh and Oxford.
Oxford has also seen the biggest increase in traffic since March, with the number of vehicles on its roads rising by 2.2 per cent. Belfast has witnessed the second biggest increase, followed by Bolton and Southampton.
Biggest Increase in traffic
1 Oxford
2 Belfast
3 Bolton
4 Southampton
5 Sheffield
6 Edinburgh
7 London
8 Glasgow
9 Cambridge
10 Aberdeen
Road congestion is estimated to cost the UK economy £20 billion a year in lost production.
Experts say a reduction of just five per cent in travel time could save businesses about £2.5 billion by cutting the number of missed appointments and speeding up delivery times.
The TomTom survey is based on traffic speed records in the 50 most congested areas across Britain between March and September.
However, its findings were disputed by Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry, the city council’s Cabinet member for environment and transport.
He said: “The traffic speed in Southampton compares well to other similar sized cities.
“The findings is this report are hugely distorted by the geography of the places we are being compared to. For example many other urban locations have long A-roads, duel carriageways and motorways running through and around them.
“This massively distorts the average traffic speeds to make it seem like those places have faster moving traffic.
“In fact, our data shows traffic speeds on Southampton’s roads are holding steady and are in some cases increasing.”
Get traffic updates on your mobile
The Daily Echo provides live traffic updates 24 hours a day. As well as the live panel to the right of this article, you can either visit dailyecho.co.uk/traffic or on your mobile go to mobile.dailyecho.co.uk.
Comments(33)
simon101
says...
10:13am Mon 3 Oct 11
The Rising Phoenix
says...
11:11am Mon 3 Oct 11
Lone Ranger.
says...
11:22am Mon 3 Oct 11
.
You only have to look at roads like Winchester road in Shirley. Queued from St James Road back to Winchester Road roundabout at 12-00. Get past St james Road and there is nothing.
.
The phasing at some lights across the City is very poor.
.
In addition 24HOUR BUS LANES.
.
What the hell is all that about.
.
The majority in London are only for peak times.
gazdance
says...
11:46am Mon 3 Oct 11
Many traffic lights are redundant at certain times of day - the number of times I have been held at a red when there is not another car in sight is silly.
I would love to see more roundabouts rather than lights but then I can use a roundabout properly. Far too many people stop dead when there is nothing coming, are in the wrong lane or feel that indicating is entirely optional. It's not hard!
roofspace
says...
11:49am Mon 3 Oct 11
motorizer
says...
11:50am Mon 3 Oct 11
'' we have really bad congestion.. what can we do about it''
'' lets build a 28 story tower block in ocean village''
'' wont that bring more traffic and congestion?''
'' of course, then we can bring in a congestion charge''
Hypocrits the lot of them....
southy
says...
12:00pm Mon 3 Oct 11
The whole city needs to replanned.
Huffter
says...
12:19pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Lets start by getting the worst drivers off the road - re-test all drivers every five years... if you need to renew a food hygiene certificate regularly then why not a driving licence?
southy
says...
12:29pm Mon 3 Oct 11
ecuk268
says...
12:37pm Mon 3 Oct 11
And why do the lights at The Range operate even when they're shut?
MGRA
says...
1:06pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Costa Baz
says...
1:39pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Lone Ranger. wrote:I have to agree, about poor phasing.
IMO the best part of the congestion is caused by traffic lights and the poor phasing of those lights.
.
You only have to look at roads like Winchester road in Shirley. Queued from St James Road back to Winchester Road roundabout at 12-00. Get past St james Road and there is nothing.
.
The phasing at some lights across the City is very poor.
.
In addition 24HOUR BUS LANES.
.
What the hell is all that about.
.
The majority in London are only for peak times.
Unless it has changed the lights in the town centre (next to Kentucky Fried) near the civic are phased in such a way that pedestrians get priority. For example, the traffic flows to and from the civic then stops for pedestrians. Then the traffic flows to and from the shopping precinct then again stops for pedestrians. At most junctions the flow is traffic - traffic - pedestrian etc.
Deliberate?
G0Rf
says...
1:40pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Always slow.
I think they should build a M27 J6 and M272, M273 and M274 !
Traffic lights at Thornhill Park Road should be removed to allow traffic from M27 straight into the city.
Many many more, maybe the road and highways teams at southampton city council should get out of their taxi's and take a look at the citys roads for them self!
Zeo
says...
1:52pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Inner City
Expand The I.O.W Car Ferry port further into the sea, build a double track metro railway system looping from Southampton Tunnel/South-Western Mail to Millbrook Railway Station, reopening Northam, Terminus, IOW/Water Front Station - Portsmouth and Lymington have a direct Ferry/Rail link so why cant we? This will allow more of an inner city rail link a bit like Yorkshire's. With Links going to Fawley, Portsmouth, Salisbury/Romsey & Winchester.
West Site
Reopen the Fawley Branch line to reduce traffic on the West.
Also Reopen Nursling Station with a Park and Ride.
East Side
Open up a Park & Ride/express Tram Line from Bursledon Roundabout where a P&P would be and a line going along the A3024 to Southampton with stops at, Hightown, Antelope Park, Bitterne, Bitterne Station, Northam Train Station/Depot, Civic Center and Terminating at West Quay. Redeveloping Albion Pl/Castle Way car parks into a Tram Terminus.
Maybe another Express Tram Route from Charles Watts Way with Park & Ride, but also going to Hedge End/Rose Bowl
North;
Express Bus Service/Park & Ride at Chilworth Drove, going through the forest and connecting up at Coxford Road, Aldermoore, Hospital, Maybush Corner, Shirley Pricent, Railway Station P4 side, Civic Center, West Quay and Vincents Walk.
Instead of saying whats to blame try brining in better transport and share your ideas!!!
southy
says...
1:56pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Sovietobserver
says...
2:00pm Mon 3 Oct 11
southy wrote:Southy as you quote 'move things to the North of the city' . An improvement on that idea could come next year when the left inevitably will be back in power.They could issue compulsory purchase orders on all the more lower density residential areas like Bassett, Highfield, West Portswood etc. Clear these areas in stages , and replace the areas with high density tower block complexes with only the very minimum of parking allocated , just for the vehicles of key workers who may need them. Then connect these complexes to the district centres as well as the city centre with an efficient super-tram system.
The real problem,s to the city apart from this Tory Council, is the V shape and the council chucking every thing down in the bottom of the V, we need to move things to the North give the city some room. another problem is people cutting though the city and not using the motorway. The whole city needs to replanned.
All this could be then financed by charging all the car commuters travelling in to the city from the Tory strongholds such as the New Forest, Test Valley, Winchester, Fareham etc. a congestion charge.
This would be a more natural way of reducing the existing traffic congestion
and lead to less traffic lights being required as well as improving the living standards of residents living in the more impoverished inner city areas who could be rehoused, as then the houses left in the old abandoned areas would be bought up by the rich Tory parents to accomodate their student offspring. It would also put pressure on the surrounding Tory councils to provide more employment opportunities in their own areas instead.
southy
says...
2:17pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Sovietobserver wrote:Building a bridge across the lower part of Southampton waters would help to, that would cut down the amount off traffic that use Southampton has a rat run.
southy wrote:Southy as you quote 'move things to the North of the city' . An improvement on that idea could come next year when the left inevitably will be back in power.They could issue compulsory purchase orders on all the more lower density residential areas like Bassett, Highfield, West Portswood etc. Clear these areas in stages , and replace the areas with high density tower block complexes with only the very minimum of parking allocated , just for the vehicles of key workers who may need them. Then connect these complexes to the district centres as well as the city centre with an efficient super-tram system.
The real problem,s to the city apart from this Tory Council, is the V shape and the council chucking every thing down in the bottom of the V, we need to move things to the North give the city some room. another problem is people cutting though the city and not using the motorway. The whole city needs to replanned.
All this could be then financed by charging all the car commuters travelling in to the city from the Tory strongholds such as the New Forest, Test Valley, Winchester, Fareham etc. a congestion charge.
This would be a more natural way of reducing the existing traffic congestion
and lead to less traffic lights being required as well as improving the living standards of residents living in the more impoverished inner city areas who could be rehoused, as then the houses left in the old abandoned areas would be bought up by the rich Tory parents to accomodate their student offspring. It would also put pressure on the surrounding Tory councils to provide more employment opportunities in their own areas instead.
MGRA
says...
2:22pm Mon 3 Oct 11
ocean village, town quay, and totton . It just takes lateral thought and some brave initiatives..... so none of it will happen.
Lone Ranger.
says...
2:55pm Mon 3 Oct 11
MGRA wrote:There was a feasability study carried out a few years ago regarding a Park and Ride at the bottom of the M271 at the end of Gover road, near the Echo offices.
some very good points on this thread ! Planners seem to have missed the obvious all these years. The most obvious way forward for southampton is a new junction 6 leading to a huge park-and-ride with 5 minute intervals on the buses during both rush hours, and a river taxi service connecting warsash,hamble, woolston, Itchen,
ocean village, town quay, and totton . It just takes lateral thought and some brave initiatives..... so none of it will happen.
.
However it was considered far too expensive and the costs would never be recovered.
jonnyx
says...
3:11pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Voice of Concern
says...
4:13pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Zeo wrote:Excellent idea's, just one question,,,,who pay's for this?
Transport Ideas;
Inner City
Expand The I.O.W Car Ferry port further into the sea, build a double track metro railway system looping from Southampton Tunnel/South-Western Mail to Millbrook Railway Station, reopening Northam, Terminus, IOW/Water Front Station - Portsmouth and Lymington have a direct Ferry/Rail link so why cant we? This will allow more of an inner city rail link a bit like Yorkshire's. With Links going to Fawley, Portsmouth, Salisbury/Romsey & Winchester.
West Site
Reopen the Fawley Branch line to reduce traffic on the West.
Also Reopen Nursling Station with a Park and Ride.
East Side
Open up a Park & Ride/express Tram Line from Bursledon Roundabout where a P&P would be and a line going along the A3024 to Southampton with stops at, Hightown, Antelope Park, Bitterne, Bitterne Station, Northam Train Station/Depot, Civic Center and Terminating at West Quay. Redeveloping Albion Pl/Castle Way car parks into a Tram Terminus.
Maybe another Express Tram Route from Charles Watts Way with Park & Ride, but also going to Hedge End/Rose Bowl
North;
Express Bus Service/Park & Ride at Chilworth Drove, going through the forest and connecting up at Coxford Road, Aldermoore, Hospital, Maybush Corner, Shirley Pricent, Railway Station P4 side, Civic Center, West Quay and Vincents Walk.
Instead of saying whats to blame try brining in better transport and share your ideas!!!
OSPREYSAINT
says...
4:18pm Mon 3 Oct 11
jonnyx wrote:Yes indeed and with current road works the traffic light phasing is completely useless.
I've driven regularly around several British cities and Southampton is definitely the worst for the sheer amount of traffic lights. A regular drive that I do is between Stoneham Lane and Bevois Valley along High Street and Portswood Road - in approximately 4 miles I encounter 14 sets of traffic lights/ pedestrian crossings!!
OSPREYSAINT
says...
4:22pm Mon 3 Oct 11
arizonan
says...
5:07pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Imagine after a 250 mile drive, to be faced with 6 cruise ships in Southampton and having to fight your way through the chaos to get to your ship.
And a fifth terminal is being planned!.
Safehands
says...
5:13pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Those temporary traffic lights are infuriating.
phil maccavity
says...
5:28pm Mon 3 Oct 11
arizonan wrote:An alternative would be for Southampton to receive a small fraction of the £2.5 BILLION, I repeat £2.5 BILLION, that Liverpool has received in grant aid in recent years.
Another reason Liverpool should have turnaround status for cruise holidays.
Imagine after a 250 mile drive, to be faced with 6 cruise ships in Southampton and having to fight your way through the chaos to get to your ship.
And a fifth terminal is being planned!.
Interesting to see that Merseyside is to get even more Govt assistance to build a second Mersey crossing.
Just a small proportion of the largesse given to Merseyside would provide Southampton with a gold plated road system!!!!
Whitters
says...
5:33pm Mon 3 Oct 11
Improving public transport is a reasonable idea. The transport system would be better designed as a small number of high frequency routes through town (similar to what BlueStar 18 does now) contained to main road and then run feeder services into them.
By introducing tickets that allow one journey to be made by changing services, most trips will be accomplished with 1 change of vehicle nearly all with 2 changes.
The problem is that people expect a bus service to take them to their destination on a single route. This means that public transport is more thinly distributed to manage this.
Nearly an OAP
says...
5:42pm Mon 3 Oct 11
dango
says...
8:47pm Mon 3 Oct 11
garlic
says...
10:24am Tue 4 Oct 11
Whitters wrote:I don't mind changing buses, but the bus routes are too few and far between and it takes the **** when having to wait 20 mins between changing buses only for the bus t be another 10 ins late.
The question is, which idiot approved Ikea to build in the centre of town? The majority of purchases require delivery or a vehicle therefore why wasn't it put on the outskirts?
Improving public transport is a reasonable idea. The transport system would be better designed as a small number of high frequency routes through town (similar to what BlueStar 18 does now) contained to main road and then run feeder services into them.
By introducing tickets that allow one journey to be made by changing services, most trips will be accomplished with 1 change of vehicle nearly all with 2 changes.
The problem is that people expect a bus service to take them to their destination on a single route. This means that public transport is more thinly distributed to manage this.
Can't believe so few of these posts have mentioned public transport as a potential solution. Southampton's public transport should be a hell of a lot better, I love going away to European cities and actually being able to get around thanks to (affordable) metros, trams, bike rental etc.
It's one of the few things that I would actually expect my taxes to be paid on.
G0Rf
says...
10:38am Tue 4 Oct 11
southampton doesnt have a travel interchange, there should be a travel interchange for bus/coach/train/ferr
y etc all in one place!
arizonan
says...
4:45pm Tue 4 Oct 11
If Southampton had met the criteria for such grants, Southampton would have received them.
And in receiving EU grants, the UK gets part of its contribution to the EU back.
ChrisPeocock says...
10:11am Mon 3 Oct 11
.
Far too many traffic lights in the city also, why cant we allow the motorist to decide when it is safe to pull out by having more roundabouts instead of traffic light. I travel 15 miles from one side of Southampton to the other and pass 16 sets of traffic lights!