Crashes In Glen Vine & Kewaigue

[Cret]

Anyone else get caught up in the melee this avvy at home time? Took 50 bastard minutes to get a couple of hundred yards round Douglas harbour on my way to pick the mrs up from her work. Nightmare!

 

I'm guessing that at least the Kewaigue one must have been pretty serious to have the road closed - hope those concerned are ok.

[Sarah]

1 hr later after turning round i was back outside my work again wot a waste of petrol!!

 

as above hope all involved are ok

[Mutley]

Firstly and most importantly I hope that all concerned are ok.

 

Secondly, why the hell was there no traffic management? I was about 400 meters from the accident in Kewaigue. Obviously the traffic came to a halt and the police, ambulance and fire brigade all zoomed past. 30 minutes later no movement and no one at the scene thought to inform anyone that they should turn around. Radio bulletins saying avoid the area (no shit sherlock). After 40 minutes a lot of people starting turning round (including me) as there was no indication as to if or when the road might be passable and snailed it back to Douglas. 15 minutes later I get to "Tescos" bridge. Traffic is still coming from the left (Tescos and Railway Hill) and from straight on (South Quay) and all heading towards Kewaigue. Still no sign of any police or traffic wardens. A further 20 minutes later I get to the roundabout outside the Traf pub. Hurray, in the distance I can see a police van turn up and block traffic turning on to the Swing Bridge at the roundabout outside the cop shop. Well done lad and lassie. But what about the traffic coming down North Quay turning right onto the Swing Bridge and the traffic coming from the carpark and turning left onto the Swing Bridge that's all headed towards South Quay and a dead end? Another 20 minutes and I've managed to get round as far as the junction at Railway Hill. Traffic is still trying to turn down Railway Hill from all roads at the junction and because it's not moving at the bottom of Railway Hill nothing is moving anywhere else. Another 15 minutes and finally I get to Quarterbridge.

 

Now don't get me wrong, my inconvenience and everyone else's pales into insignificance when measured against anyone who may be injured or worse - but lord lantern jaysus could the police/traffic wardens not put a person at the keys points (accident scene, Swing Bridge/North Quay junction, outside the cop shop, junction at top of Railway Hill) to co-ordinate and deal with the situation properly?

[Cret]

It's a real demonstration of how all these wonderful changes to the traffic system in Douglas go completely to shit as soon as one route is blocked.

I know it's rush hour and it's always slow at that times but it's absurd that it's so badly arranged that one accident (yes I know there were two but I don't think the Glen Vine one caused that much impact - no pun intended obviously) causes so much chaos.

 

I wonder how long before some enlightened soul informs us that being stuck for an hour isn't really bad traffic and how we should try getting in a traffic jam across....

 

Saw another interesting traffic sight the other morning which was an artic & trailer doing a burnout trying to up the hill past kewaigue school. Wet road, overloaded artic trailer = wheelspin & beaucoup de smoke!

[Kurashima]

Ill back Muttley on this one , and throw the following at it.

 

We left douglas around 5:05 , doubled back at the sea terminal because traffic was static. Went up Prospect Hill (no traffic at all?) and along Athol St (very mild traffic) then down past the Railway , onto the OC road.

 

Then the fun began.

 

By the time we got to the first entrance to the Nunnery, it was already 5:30 , and traffic going back past us was at a standstill. If the police had closed the road down by the quayside when the crash first happened, the delays just wouldnt have happened. Anyway, after nearly 1hr 30 mins , we got to the end of the queue and saw a large truck and trailer parked up on one side, a Bedford Van sized truck on the other side of the road, and what was left of what appeared to be a Sport-type hatchback in the centre of the road. The roof was missing, which says that either the occupants were cut out, or there wasnt much left of it after it hit one of the trucks. Cant report much more, but im told that the police had the road closed off by Kewaigue school within a few minutes of them arriving, so why they didnt properly close the road further into Douglas I just dunno.

[andrew]

Now don't get me wrong, my inconvenience and everyone else's pales into insignificance when measured against anyone who may be injured or worse - but lord lantern jaysus could the police/traffic wardens not put a person at the keys points (accident scene, Swing Bridge/North Quay junction, outside the cop shop, junction at top of Railway Hill) to co-ordinate and deal with the situation properly?

So that's one outside the Police Station, one at the end of the Swing Bridge, one by ATS, one at top of Railway Hill, one out at Road Island Road, another down by Kewaigue Cottages to catch the old Castletown road traffic, plus say one either side of the RTA itself - oh that's every Police officer on duty in Douglas (on a good day) tied up now! The traffic wardens finish at 4 or 5 pm so none of them would be on. Not the easiest thing to do!

[Mission]

Douglas only has 8 coppers on duty at any one time?

[Cret]

So that's one outside the Police Station, one at the end of the Swing Bridge,

 

Just to be accurate, there were two outside Lord st Police Station (and a van across the road), and no-one actually at either side of the swing bridge. I can only speak for the time around 17.52 anyway when I had come back up south quay to come over the bridge. If 'one at the end of the swing bridge' means one of the two officers at Lord St then yes that's right, but otherwise there weren't any police immediately aside the bridge. Not a criticism at all, just an observation.

[cheeky boy]

It's obvious really, if it looks like shit and smells like shit... Then it's shit

 

The DOT and the police are genuinely useless when it comes to managing traffic.

 

My advice: buy a bicycle and use the Nunnery footpath and the disused railway line to clear town with no interruptions.

 

Better still, put new trains back on the railway lines, or would such a radical Victorian idea never catch on ?

[Gladys]

I left work unusually late this evening and saw the traffic backed up along Athol Street so took a right up to Circular Road, then home clear. Became apparent why when MR reported an accident at Kewaigue.

 

But you are right Cheeky Boy, traffic management is not in the handbook. A 'for example' is the traffic lights at the end of Athol Street and going over on to Bank Hill. At busy times the traffic cannot move off the bottom of Banks Hill as there is that crazy scheme at the Railway junction, so the traffic cannot move off from the bottom of Athol Street and traffic is backed up almost to Prospect Hill. Just daft. Why does north bound traffic have to go left then round the little roundabout outside Tesco's to go along North Quay, thus doubling the amount of traffic passing the give way at the bottom of Banks Hill and so causing a back up to Athol Street? And why have a single line of traffic from Athol Street split into two to go down Banks Hill, so that if you are in the straight ahead lane in Athol Street, you are blocked by the traffic backing up Banks Hill which is in the left lane?

 

Would it make more sense for the traffic flow around that block to be reversed so that the exit is from North quay where you can either go straight ahead for Tesco's or left for the Old Castletown Road and make Banks Hill one way going up?

[Cret]

Get away you filthy sense talker you!

[Frances]

the Railway junction is the utter stupidity it is because of the need to allow buses to exit banks circus - I am amazed that there hasn't yet been a fatal accident here

[Gladys]

The one good thing about that junction is nothing is travelling at any great speed, so no real chance of anything beyond a prang. But add to the soup the Railway Station entrance and it is a right bugger's muddle.

[cheeky boy]

I had a great vision in that traffic jam tonite, a voice telling me "WALK, WALK"

 

So I did, pulled in, walked to Tescos, got my tea and walked home

 

Sat in the garden eating roast mediterrenean veg with feta and olives +glass of merlot (only four quid a bottle)

 

Walked back after eight, food digested then drove home

 

smug get

[Cret]

How big was the glass of Merlot before you drove home eh?

 

BTW - anyone actually heard about if the people concerned were ok?

 

I know a lot of us are being mardy about having to wait an hour or so but I hope those concerned are still alright.