This observer had a look at the lights this morning. It appears they have been out all night according to a tweet from Traffic Scotland. Drivers were behaving cautiously and courteously in the wet and dark early morning conditions and it was quite busy as usual around 8.25 a.m. Picture below and video to follow.
UPDATE: video from approx 8.25 a.m. Mon 26th January
Adds to the theory that many of us hold that traffic flow through Nairn would be much improved by switching all of the lights off
ReplyDeleteJust reduce the speed limit through the town to 20mph for safety and I'm sure drivers on the A96 would let drivers move out of junctions at appropriate times
Zero maintenance costs, happier motorists and Nairn is no longer avoided as a destination
Probably too logical though
I have long been impressed by the courtesy of Nairn drivers to vehicles coming out of side roads, eg Maggot Road,onto the A96. Many times cars have stopped to let me out and, in turn, I do the same whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteYes, They were turned off by a yellow man last night at 6:50pm
ReplyDeleteLets just get back to being courteous drivers and let people out of junctions and stop and let waiting people cross the road!!
Lights back on when I drove through at 5.30ish. As usual the traffic was crawling again..........
ReplyDeleteAs much as I dislike the lights it would be interesting to see how long an elderly or infirm person would have to wait to cross the road around this area at a busy time with no working lights??
ReplyDeleteI walk in Nairn almost everyday and cross the A96 in various places and at different times and can clarify first hand that most (not all!!) of the drivers on the road have very little regard for pedestrians, I always try to press the buttons on the crossings as a last resort, however, when crossing and there is plenty of room to do so and the lights are still at green drivers will often accelerate!
I'm not for the lights and get frustrated when driving through the town like everyone else - but just looking from another perspective.
PS the silver 4x4 at 2.05 didn't look as if they were very keen on letting the white car cross the road in front of them, I fear if you remove the lights we will still get regular hold ups following the accidents from the less considerate drivers out there.
The reality is that the A96 is used by thousands of people daily who could not care less about Nairn's pedestrians, residents or anyone else trying to go about their business in the town!
It's amazing watching your video as to how courteous and indeed careful most drivers were, the one exception seems to be the driver of a white car turning right out of Lochloy Road who seemed impatient and probably caused other drivers to brake
ReplyDeleteThis was at arguably the busiest time of day at this junction and shows a need for a rethink for all the lights we now have in Nairn
Some drivers who commute to Inverness may remember that before the lane changes to the roundabout at the A96/Culloden junction it used to be common practice for drivers coming from the east to let drivers onto the A96
Hard to believe that road users can keep the flow of traffic going without lights but it's true
Lochloy is getting more developed and traffic will increase further. Remember the post days ago about a massive tailback when one car couldn't pull out??! In poor weather no lights would be hazardous.
ReplyDeleteProves the point that in the absence of functioning lights, traffic flows more smoothly across junctions.
ReplyDeleteOne relevant point is that when traffic is flowing well, people do tend to be relaxed and courteous. It's when there are long holdups and jams that drivers get impatient and intolerant and reluctant to give way or let others enter from side roads.
The problem of tailbacks down Lochloy Road if cars can't get out on to the A96 is a different matter. That only occurs because at present the junction by Scotmid is the only way in or out for the massively-expanded population now living in Lochloy, and so becomes a bottleneck. The answer to that is not fiddling with light-phasing.
The answer was, and is, to have a proper alternative access to the A96 at the other end of the Lochloy development, via a bridge over the railway by Balmakeith. If the planners had been sensible and ensured that such an access was delivered, the Lochloy Road and junction problem would not arise.
It's not too late to get this delivered, and the bypass planning now reinforces the case for a link from the eastern end of Lochloy to the proposed junction of the A96 and the bypass out beyond Sainsburys. Now there's something for our Councillors, and the planners, to get sorted.