Road blocks are a part of life and like death and taxes they’re inevitable always looming ahead.

For years I’ve accepted this ideology under the pretence that things are being made more efficient or being fixed in there presence. But, as of late road blocks have been getting so frequent that I’ve begun to question if they are truly that integral, and if they are blocking the road to efficiently.

 

I live in quite a small town which, for many years has proven no hassle In regards to roads, but recently road works have begun to be a part of my daily life. For instance because of roadworks imposed directly outside our village my bus journey to school was 15 minutes longer than it would otherwise be, and I know fifteen minutes is not a jaw dropping statistic but when there’s a road block from the direction your bus is coming from, that journey is promptly increasing by 25 minutes.

25 minutes that is imposing time I could be learning within. Now I’m not saying that we can delete road works from existence ,because they are crucial to keeping our roads moving, but when you are encountering 2-3 road works on a normal trip to school you can find yourself asking, did all others roadworks need to happen at exactly the same time. Is there no system preventing situations like this? Because at the end of the day, these roadworks are blocking the way not just for schoolchildren but adults with working jobs that they need to attend to at the correct time. 

To get views from one said adult I asked Jules Preston about how her job was impacted by roadworks:

‘So would you say that roadworks effect your journey?’

“Yes as they affect my journey to my job”

“How many  road works do you encounter on your journey?”

“Between 1-3 each journey”

“How early do you have to leave?”

“I leave at 7:15, and my journey  should take me 14 minutes but I have to assume that it could take 45.”

 

 

It’s clear to see road works can have a frustrating effect on many’s lives but how do we mitigate this? I propose a red amber green system, a system where red roadworks (urgent ones) take priority over green and amber ones. They’re would only be allowed a certain number of green roadworks per Nm2 to prevent needless traffic. If there was already a red roadworks they’re green roadworks would not be allowed near as not ti clutter the journey. This would be my solution but there would obviously be issues. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope you see my point within this.

Sid Preston