Upper Mwrog Street. Is there a solution? When something goes wrong, there are hold-ups, even if these are really only for a few moments. May be the alternative to a multi-million pound bypass is simply to accept those delays as a part of life and simply just wait. Novel idea.
There's no doubting that upper Mwrog Street is pleasant. It's in a conservation area, after all.
But it's narrow and isn't the best environment for vehicles. There's another head of steam to "get something done". Easy to say. From time to time, two heavy vehicles do meet and this causes issues. From time to time, someone calls for action. In reality, problems don't happen often. I know, and am *very* familiar with this particular stretch.
There are people who say that because it's a conservation are it is needs urgent treatment. Well, in that case, may we please have all cars out of the Rhuthun/Ruthin conservation area (i.e. the town centre). Then there are those who suggest that we need to do something because of the volume of traffic. The number of vehicles is actually very low and there are worse areas with higher volumes (e.g. Llanelwy/St Asaph High Street; Lôn Fawr; Rhos Street pinch point, to name three of hundreds of examples).
Seriously, though, can we do anything? About 50 years ago, there was talk of a bypass. I believe there were even plans. At the time of the Northern Relief Road (Ffordd Glasdir) there was talk of a spur from Glasdir to Lôn Fawr, but not to cover upper Mwrog Street. Once again, the amount of traffic itself would suggest that upper Mwrog Street isn't a strong candidate (if it's a candidate at all). And, where would the bypass run? From Dyffryn Services at Glasdir. Would it make much difference? Some, but not to traffic from the town centre, from Wrecsam or from Y Bala. I'd say that there was more chance of Buckingham Palace moving here (given that Bertie, Prince of Wales, was fond of the place, perhaps that's not so far fetched an idea).
Next up, we have traffic lights. There's a lot of talk about them. A good idea in principle but not in practice. The length of road from the Cross Keys to the min-roundabout is long and you'd need three-way lights, to include the lane to Efenechtyd. Strangers might consider that the lights had stuck, such would be the long pause. There'd be queues along lower Mwrog Street from Rhuthun. Would all queueing traffic keep the Lôn Fawr junction clear? Doubt it. Above all, there are accesses and entrances along the length of road: how would home owners know when it was safe to go?
To those who say that the bypass should've been built at the same time as the flood defence scheme (along the same alignment), let's not forget that the flood defences were imperative, delayed and over budget. And had it been built, realistically, like now, who would use it?
There's no doubting that upper Mwrog Street is pleasant. It's in a conservation area, after all.
But it's narrow and isn't the best environment for vehicles. There's another head of steam to "get something done". Easy to say. From time to time, two heavy vehicles do meet and this causes issues. From time to time, someone calls for action. In reality, problems don't happen often. I know, and am *very* familiar with this particular stretch.
Next up, we have traffic lights. There's a lot of talk about them. A good idea in principle but not in practice. The length of road from the Cross Keys to the min-roundabout is long and you'd need three-way lights, to include the lane to Efenechtyd. Strangers might consider that the lights had stuck, such would be the long pause. There'd be queues along lower Mwrog Street from Rhuthun. Would all queueing traffic keep the Lôn Fawr junction clear? Doubt it. Above all, there are accesses and entrances along the length of road: how would home owners know when it was safe to go?
To those who say that the bypass should've been built at the same time as the flood defence scheme (along the same alignment), let's not forget that the flood defences were imperative, delayed and over budget. And had it been built, realistically, like now, who would use it?
Tags:
Traffic