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Sunday 27 July 2014

PM David Cameron, I appeal to you!

Dear Mr Cameron,
Yesterday - Saturday 26th July was Shrewton's yearly Flower Show.   From early on, there was - perfectly entitled, local traffic heading to and from our Recreation Ground in the setting up of pitches, flower tent, our Silver Band and lots of other activities taking place through out the day, as at most village shows.   Not the least - was our own little set up for STAG: Stonehenge Traffic Action Group.
After we were happy with our meagre  efforts, we left the grounds to head home for some lunch before the show opening time of 13.30 and.....surprise! surprise!.....a speeding rat runner in his black VW Passat complete with roof box & surf board, as we waited to leave the grounds on Mill Lane - clearly, he's done this run before many times, because he was quite familiar with his route which was not on the main High Street to the mini roundabout as would have been the normal rat run -   We lost sight of him within seconds as he weaved his way around parked vehicles about 40mph through narrow Tanner's Lane - just 9' in places, mostly without pavement!!
Earlier on Saturday, at 08.23 I myself was interviewed by Graham Rogers from Wiltshire Radio
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022s8zw about the traffic on the A303.  whilst we expected the usual bottle neck at Stonehenge to start about 11am....to my surprise, the traffic report said at 08.20 the queue had already backed up to the top Beacon Hill...PM...please listen to what I have to say: The A303 around Stonehenge, since the closure of the A344, is now a disgrace and an embarrassment to Wiltshire!!!
Whilst we couldn't manage out to our usual pitch on Saturday, we were out on Friday with our flyers to raise awareness of our campaign to improve the A303 past Stonehenge....here are some photos to put you in the picture as to why we get so many vehicles rat running through our village.   We will have to tollerate this throughout the summer and beyond.
Something must be done with this section of the A303 before a mother and child is killed in our village - traffic is now the main topic of conversation!!!

One driver said he'd been in the queue for over an hour, having travelled just 3.5 miles.   That time would surely be up to 2 hours on Saturday.  From now on, through out the summer
we need to carry 2-litre bottles of water, for over heated cars and cold bottled water for over heated drivers and their children.  

 All it takes, to slow things down even further is a breakdown like this one on the single section of the A303 adjacent to Stonehenge.   Should a driver lose a moments concentration through heat, fractious children, or the destraction of a WHS, there is nowhere to go!  
I appeal to you Mr Cameron, to stop this now - You can fix this!
If you support us: please sign our Parliamentary petition at: www.sh2.co.uk

Friday 25 July 2014

The camera never lies...or does it?

I was mildly amused when I read this article in
on Monday 21st July 2014: 
Apparently, "hundreds" of cameras will be involved in the next Stonehenge Traffic Routeing Study:

A303 traffic survey to be carried out

A TRAFFIC survey monitoring vehicle movements on the A303 and through the surrounding villages is being carried out in early August.
Hundreds of cameras will track the routes that drivers take between the traffic-choked Countess Roundabout and Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
The monitoring exercise uses automatic number plate recognition technology to individually track the behaviour of motorists in the survey area.
The A303 is blighted by lengthy tailbacks at peak times and throughout the summer holidays, and local residents say the problem has been made worse by the closure of the A344 near Stonehenge.
Traffic management consultancy Atkins will be carrying out the research from Monday, August 4 to Sunday, August 10, focusing in particular on the amount of extra traffic and the impact it is having, on Shrewton and Larkhill.
So, rather than us thinking our every move is to be spied upon by Big Brother, I thought I'd provide the map as to where these 14 cameras will be placed on the dates mentioned.  They will be in the same places as they were in March so that a direct comparison can be achieved.   One assumes that these cameras will never lie......but....what about this one that appeared on Shrewton's very own London Road last Monday and has caused quite a stir on STAG Facebook page!   Even......www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire radio's Ashley Heath picked up on the story, which went out on this morning's Ben Prater's programme!
According the the DIY expert who constructed it, it's had a good effect on the speeding public - all checked out with Wiltshire's Finest and perfectly legal!
Be nice if two little Blue Tits moved in, and made more Blue Tits!

1 week later......
Unfortunately, this one didn't last long enough for the Blue Tits to move in - it was stolen by persons unknown, but they were seen to be loading it into the back of an "official vehicle"!!!  But its certainly caused a stir with the press around the area and beyond!

Wednesday 16 July 2014

The West Country - Closed!

Campaigners have been trying to get respective governments to spend money on the single section of the A303 around Stonehenge for decades......after all, it is only one of two main routes into the Devon and Cornwall and with holiday traffic now jamming up this section most days of the week, this must have an effect on, not just tourists, but companies trying to carry goods down the corridor....it's now time for something major to be done!!
On the 8th February, I posted "Mother Nature making Her mark" which explained the need for the A303 dualling and this was borne out today with the south bound M5 closed from 3am when two lorries collided with one of them over turning and landing across all three lanes, read that story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-28322886
The M5 south was set to be closed till the afternoon and beyond.   As I write this, there are still only two lanes open with a 75 minute delay.
It is fortuitous this accident did not happen tomorrow or Friday, because that would certainly have meant "The West Country is Closed Today" and so, at least freight had an alternative route, albeit slow in places!
Therefore, I call upon Claire Perry MP http://www.claireperry.org.uk/what-i-do/campaigns - our new Under Secretary of State for Transport, to join with www.johnglenmp.com and to add the STAG: Stonehenge Traffic Action Group campaign to the other 3 very needful campaigns in which she is involved, because if nothing is done about the A303 i.e. without that extra dual carriageway around Stonehenge and the By-pass for Winterbourne Stoke - there is no alternative when the M5 has a problem......no tourists.....no freight......no jobs......no economy......!


Sunday 13 July 2014

This is important! Pls read, digest and comment......

We have been given authority from One Richard Eley of Sidmouth Devon, to publicise the following 3 letters - one each to:
John Glen MP: www.johnglenmp.com 
Neil Parish MP: www.neilparish.co.uk and
Devon County Council:
www.devon.gov.uk/index/transportroads/devon_local_transport_plan

Please do not ignore because they've been written from Devon - we're all in this together and they show a worrying trend that could and will affect us all!!   They need to be read, read again, and digested.  
Please have your say on this blog, to MPs or local press & other media......


 
The letter to Devon CC is on 3 pages:

We at STAG hope you will put your comments forward.....
www.sh2.co.uk
reaching:
http://staga303blogspot.com
http://bypasswinterbournestoke.com

Thank you for your interest!

STAG - The Story Chapter & Verse!


Our thanks to the editor of Wiltshire Life for this article in the August issue.....it speaks for itself!



Friday 11 July 2014

If I were You, I'd give the A303 a miss.....

For the rest of the summer!
This being the start of the school holidays, it seems everyone has taken to "The Highway To The Sun" and I often wonder how the Devon & Cornwall peninsular supports the weight of all these folks and their vehicles!    These pictures show a typical Friday/Saturday west bound from now through to September on the A303 at the infamous Stonehenge Bottleneck.   At 1432 I took a wee peek at our Traffic Cam at Solstice Park via the web site: www.sh2.co.uk  and found the A303 to be queued all the way up over Beacon Hill - you can do this too, if you would like forewarning of the state of traffic on the A303.....but beware!......even if  this camera shows the road to be clear at this point, it may well be clogged from Countess roundabout all the way up towards West Amesbury, but we have no way of knowing because the
have not provided a camera for this section of the A303!     Perhaps....there's some kind of moral there: Out of sight, Out of mind?! 
The queues are due to the agreement by Wiltshire Council -
"Where everybody matters"
to allow English Heritage to close the A344 past Stonehenge prior to dualling the A303, and now we're all stuck.....fast!
It's well documented on this blog that members of the STAG team are out on the A303 at West Amesbury handing out flyers to raise the profile of our campaign to improve this section of road.  Today, we had the help of... no less than.....Marge & Homer Simpson! DOH!

So we thought if anyone else would like to provide their time out there, they may require......the script.....for shouting at the travelling public in an effort for them to take our flyer, so here it is.....
"The Government need to spend money on this road"!..."The A303 is now unfit for purpose"!....."Help us get this road improved it's an embarrassment to Wiltshire"!
Here are just some of the photos we captured today, of a typical Friday on the A303 at holiday time.....The "Friday Chapter of Harley Davidsons weaving through the stopped traffic from the bridge at Folly Bottom at 1511.....can you spot them?.....
Then, because we knew that London Road in Amesbury was full of not just rat runners, but also vehicles using the new www.bmstores.co.uk, we took a short cut - that only us locals know! to West Amesbury to set up our usual pitch....and, 11 minutes later.....what should hove into view but.....the Friday Chapter!    We understood life to be quicker by motor bike....not anymore - 20 minutes to travel 3.5km - not good!!

Considering drivers and car contents had been sitting in a queue of approximately 6.5km for over an hour - confirmed! most people were in good mood and giving us the thumbs up.....various comments coming from drivers:
"blow up Stonehenge," "should have built the road years ago," to which I responded "I'll have it ready tomorrow, I'll just get my spade from the car"!!  and the best one....."Good Luck! we hope you're successful"!  
We've been out here so often, it's now pertinent to take a number of 2-Ltr bottles of water in our car for over heated vehicles and some drinking water for over heated children.

If you accepted our flyer - thank you!  Please use it wisely and pass it on to a friend or relative who have or intend to use the A303 this summer!
WWW.SH2.CO.UK



  

Thursday 10 July 2014

We've just reached a STAG campaign Milestone!!



Our thanks to Salisbury's Conservative MP : www.johnglenmp.com who presented our petition to the House of Commons at 1900 on Wednesday 9th July......

The petition started only 11 months ago, has over 2000 signatures thanks to you, the travelling public who have had need to use the A303 from West Amesbury to Winterbourne Stoke, or have been affected by rat running through villages where drivers try to avoid long queues on this beleaguered stretch of road.    Local people have been campaigning for over 30 years and perhaps....just perhaps.....we may be getting somewhere!   But we're not stopping there.....why would we, when we're on a roll.    The campaign must continue to evolve until we reach our goal....and that ball needs to be firmly in the back of the net!!!
 
Here are John's words when he stood up in the Commons last evening:


"I rise to present a petition on behalf of more than 2,000 petitioners calling for urgent upgrades to be made to the A303 at Stonehenge.  Members of the Stonehenge traffic action group www.sh2.co.uk in my constituency started the petition in response to the long-standing and infamous problems on the A303, which have worsened following the recent closure of the A344.

The petition states:

The Petition of residents of the UK,

Declares that the Petitioners believe that urgent action is needed to make the A303 road west of Stonehenge a dual carriageway following dramatically increased traffic levels caused by the closure of the A344; further that the Petitioners believe a bypass road should be created to relieve the village of Winterbourne Stoke and other blighted communities; further that increased traffic has been diverted on to local roads to the detriment of those resident in the surrounding villages; and further that the Petitioners believe that the Government’s feasibility study into improving the A303 must take the impact of disruption on their lives caused by increased traffic into consideration.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to improve the A303 west of Stonehenge by constructing a dual carriageway at the earliest possible opportunity."

Friday 4 July 2014

More A303 goings on .....



On Wednesday, Watch Bustard and wife were out on the A303 at the junction of the B3083 in Winterbourne Stoke, waiting with camera at the ready, for the abnormal loads mentioned in a previous posting but.......they were late - by about 2 hours in fact!    However, no matter, they were entertained whilst waiting on the monster trucks by another mini crisis - all part of "a day in the life of the A303".   As one of three Movie Maker artics complete with hooked on motorhomes hove into site with much blowing of horns, stuttered to a halt right on the slip road to the B3083, It was presumed they had left Worthy Farm after the Glastonbury Festival.   So! W B thinks.....got to get this off the carriageway before the monsters show themselves around the bend at Scotland Lodge!!
The vehicle may have had British plates, but the driver and his side-kicks, didn't have a word of English between them.   Watch Bustard was able to make Guiseppe, Mario and Valentino, understand the need to remove their rather large vehicle from the carriageway tout de suite or in this case.... them being Italian - subito!!   This done, he gets on the mobile and calls Wiltshire's Finest, who arrive within minutes on the way to another 'shout'.  
Watch Bustard then goes into traffic direction mode, guiding traffic into and out of the B3083 with drivers using sat navs taking them through local villages, to avoid queues caused by yet another accident at Stonehenge Bottom (2nd in 2 days - our Wiltshire police stretched again!)
Meanwhile, the Italians are trying to find out what may have gone wrong with their vehicle.....can you spot Guiseppe under the tractor unit....?   when....
to our surprise..... out comes the problem - bits of shattered brake disc too hot to handle!!!   There's much phoning, gesticulation and arm waving, and...."Ello, ello, ello" says the policeman, "you can't go on without brakes, or I will arresterate you!" so, its decided the two other trucks drive on, to rendezvous at Countess Services, leaving Guiseppe waiting to be recovered.   Not wanting to miss his spag bol with his mates, Guiseppe hits on an idea of isolating the front air brake lines!!!   Finding neither clamps or cable ties conveniently lying around, he unearths a piece of fence wire, does the dubious bodge job and off he goes.....only to break down at Longbarrow - about 3km up the road.....right in front of two bike cops!
And now to the point of us being out on the A303 in the first place - to take photos of the abnormal load, which must be getting very close now.......enter Bike Cop to direct the west bound traffic.....first of all to .....stop them ......and secondly...... to ask them politely to remain where they are....the driver of this silver vehicle didn't seem to understand tho' and she was sure the traffic cop was over reacting and that she would get through no problem....... I think she may have had rather a shock when she saw the size of the convoy........
For those of us who think that police escorting comes out of the tax payers budget, it should be noted that: "resources are being provided by volunteer police officers on rest days, paid for by the haulier at no cost to the public."

The job would have been much easier had the A303 been dualled and a by-pass around Winterbourne Stoke in place!

Sign our petition please at: www.sh2.co.uk

Watch Bustard at STAG thanks the Great Bustard breeding program on Salisbury Plain - see more at: www.greatbustard.org





Wednesday 2 July 2014

Abnormal Loads on The A303 - Today and tomorrow!

STOP PRESS: Abnormal Loads On The A303
To get this information to you quickly, I thank my colleague at STAG: Dr Andrew Shuttleworth.
Wiltshire Police are warning motorists to be aware of several abnormal loads that will be passing through the county this week, eastbound along a section of the A303.   At approximately 11.00am on Wednesday 2nd July, three specialist load transporters carrying dump trucks will be escorted by Wiltshire Police from Whatley Quarry, Frome to the Parkhouse roundabout off the A303.  The transporter will then continue its planned route (outside of the Wiltshire border) on the A303 and A34 before later joining the M4 where it will re-enter the county.   We think it is probable, these little beauties will be making a return journey to return them to their home in Wales!

The same transporters carrying similar loads will then make an identical trip 24 hours later on Thursday 3rd July, also starting at approximately 11.00am. You do have to question the common sense of whoever agreed to this happening on a Thursday, at a time when eastbound traffic is likely to be building up in the new A303 special - the advanced Friday rush hour.

The transporters and their loads will measure 5.75 metres (18ft 10ins) wide, 4.98m (16ft 4ins) high with an overall length of 23m (76ft) and gross weight of 117 tonnes.

Routes that are likely to be affected by the transportation are the eastbound stretches of the A361, A36, A350 and A303. The transporter will also be travelling on the A34 and M4 later in the afternoon.
A note from Wiltshire's Finest and if you have a problem please ring them on 101
Due to the size of the transporters, they will be slow moving and will have the potential to create congestion. Wherever possible, disruption will be kept to a minimum but hauliers and motorists are asked to please be patient if they come across this load. Anyone travelling over this period should allow sufficient additional time.
Regular updates and travel information in respect of the abnormal loads will be passed from our control room at Devizes when appropriate to help motorists plan their journey.

Police escorting resources are being provided by volunteer police officers on rest days, paid for by the haulier at no cost to the public.
 At least there was the presence of mind not to have done this last Monday when the whole of the Wiltshire east bound A303 was blocked all day with returning revellers from Glastonbury Festival. This included a crash at Stonehenge Bottom early about 7am and things went from bad to worse especially in our village of Shrewton with rat run traffic trying to avoid the queues. Salisbury Road in Shrewton was nose to tail at 08.45!

Now how much easier would all this be if the A303 were dualled along its entire length? Watch out for problems in Winterbourne Stoke if either of these convoys meet an HGV travelling westwards.