I have travelled this way for several years and it is only this week I have seen more then a short queue where it goes from three lanes to two. Now a queue for nearly two miles is there every day.
Last weekend the roadworks at the Robin Hood Roundabout on the A3 ended. The roadworks made only minor changes to traffic flow during rush hours. This week the roadworks are over and it has been hell! Far worse than when the roadworks were ongoing.
Now the cones have all gone the traffic between 5pm and 7pm backs up from Robin Hood right up to Tibbet’s Corner. Every evening has been bad, twice this week at 5.30 the queue went back past the underpass so Jackie and I went the other way round Wimbledon Common. The second time we did this the traffic was queueing on Tibbet’s Corner roundabout to get onto the A3 leading to congestion on the feeder roads.
I can’t see the cause as there is nothing on the A3 to cause it, so what is happening at Kingston Vale that is parking about a thousand cars? Jackie and I calculate we have lost about two hours of our lives this week between us negotiating this roadblock, and I want to know what the cause is so I can complain!
The phasing of the lights is my theory but as I don’t go the way the lights cover and don’t travel in the opposite direction I wouldn’t know. Yesterday it was clear that the queue for turning right up Kingston Hill went way back, over the narrow bridge and started back where the Rugby ground with the experimental cameras are. This means that a road that is five lanes (A3 at three lanes + two lanes coming from Roehampton) gets reduced to one effective lane at Robin Hood.
I’m unlucky enough to ride that route every day. It was a nightmare down there this morning.
The traffic was backed up right from the T-junction with Roehampton Lane all the way up to Kingston Rise, where I turn off. From what I could see up the road, it seems to clear after that though - I can’t really tell what’s different. I don’t think the lights are phased differently. They still seem to be green for a pretty long time…
I don’t suppose anyone knows of a better way into Teddington from Clapham? :unsure:
I go the same way. think tonight I might go around Wimbledon Common. Have had a few close calls the past week or so, especially in the rain. Car drivers don’t like looking in their wingmirrors when stuck in crawling traffic, but are more than happy to change lanes at any moment.
its a flippin nightmare, everynight at the mo its queued from the south circ all the way up the a316 towards the a3, i have to filter the whole way up… im sick of it.
I’m going to go up around Richmond this evening, then rejoin the A205 just before at the junction that goes off up towards that stretch of dual-carrigeway.
It’s always hairy filtering down there in the evening anyway, so I might even save a few minutes.
It’s got really bad over the past few days though, hasn’t it. Used to be able to sail down that stretch of road…
I have written to TFL asking what they have done, describing the effect on traffic, and asking them to undo whatever it is. If they don’t give a sensible reply I am going to write to my MP and Boris about it. I suggest you all do the same.
The last week the traffic has been flowing well. Also today I got a reply yesterday from TFL to the email I sent them on the 15th. Someone is working overtime to satisfy their 14 day turnaround target for correspondence!
"I regret any delay you have encountered to your journey through this area.
We are aware of the problems at this site and our engineers have carried out remedial works to ensure that the junction operates adequately. They have observed that the queues have now gone. We will continue to monitor the site and are confident that the site will continue to operate sufficiently whilst the necessary works are completed."
So they did bugger it up! Anyway, it looks like it is fixed.
