The Northern Distributer Road AKA Norwich Northern Bypass

[TheQ]

Someone agrees with you Brundalnavy... ( and me on the shape of the roundabouts)

http://www.edp24.co.uk/features/my-critique-of-the-ndr-1-5396741

 

Though this sort of thing takes some effort...

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/car-stuck-on-ndr-roundabout-1-5396119

[YnysMon]

Cars stuck on roundabouts is a common sight in Milton Keynes, especially Saturday and Sunday mornings after the joy riders have been speeding around in the small hours. Joking apart, I wonder how many serious casualties there must be as quite a lot of our roundabouts have rather large trees in the middle of them.  It must cost our highways people a fortune to keep having to mend the caution signs!

Helen

[Labrador]

I'm surprised that the letter writer really thought that the meetings were to take on board serious concerns, they were held purely to been seen as going through the "democratic" process. They are attempting to make as much traffic use the NDR as they can to justify the spiralling cost.

[TheQ]

22 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Cars stuck on roundabouts is a common sight in Milton Keynes, especially Saturday and Sunday mornings after the joy riders have been speeding around in the small hours. Joking apart, I wonder how many serious casualties there must be as quite a lot of our roundabouts have rather large trees in the middle of them.  It must cost our highways people a fortune to keep having to mend the caution signs!

Helen

It was the cars crashed  on the redways, that were more worrying, I came across a few motorbikes being ridden on redways, when I lived there (1988 -1999).

(Redways = walking /cycle/ horses,   paths )

[YnysMon]

Haven't come across that recently, thank goodness.  I think the police had a crackdown.  We quite often had mounted police clip-clopping through our neighbourhood, though I haven't spotted any within the last year or so.  A bit different from the usual bobby on the beat!

Helen

[TheQ]

From the EDP,

Not quite the NDR but close,

 The A1150 North Walsham road Between Allens road and White Woman Lane will be closed for resurfacing from 9am to 4pm from the 12th of March for two weeks.

That's the Coltishall road from the last road junction before the rugby club most of the way towards Norwich at the  round about at Mile cross lane on the "old ring road"

Also there is an extra set of traffic lights just North of the NDR Wroxham road roundabout, before the Rackheath turning and about a mile on towards Wroxham some cones round a hole in the tarmac.

[vanessan]

Road resurfacing? How lucky are you up there in Norfolk. Down here in Kent we have potholes with a bit of road connecting them! I was listening to the radio earlier today, an article about road repairs. Apparently someone watched a truck drive up to a large hole, two guys got out and filled the hole (which had an empty tin can in it) with tarmac (yes they left the tin can in it!), stamped the tarmac in with their size 11s, got back in the truck and moved on. Close a road for 2 weeks to do things properly - not down here in Kent! 

[grendel]

have you seen the state of the motorways, over the last couple of weeks the holes have all been growing, especially the M2, The inside lane is almost impassable now for cars, unless you want to drive a slalom course around the worst of the potholes.

[vanessan]

The problem with the M2, M20 and A2 is the amount of lorries they carry. Any repair is gouged out again really quickly together with more of the remaining road. The A2 at the Lydden lights is dire and avoiding the holes impossible because of the lorries, try and slalom them at your peril! I think I would rather have the NDR.

[TheQ]

This mornings Lead Item on radio Norfolk Morning discussion programme..

The stupid design of the roundabouts on the NDR,

One of the reasons for no lights on the round abouts, Enviromental it's classed as a " dark area"

Alongside the Norwich airport with thousands of cars trundeling up and down with head light on?

[batrabill]

Went round the NDR from Rackheath to the airport this morning in the dark.

The markings are incredibly clear and easy to follow IMHO and if you cant see the roundabout you should see an optician - urgently.

[TheQ]

I can see the markings, unfortunately the design and shape of the round abouts is stupid,

 Why do they have 3 concentric rings of markings when there are only at most 2 lanes of traffic   joining or leaving.

 The roundabouts themselves have very sharp entries and exits compared to most modern or even older roundabouts, the exits have very short merge areas when you have two lanes of the roundabout heading to the exit.

[Jbx5]

I use this road now on the way to work every day and it is a great asset to the area, but the roundabouts having 3 lanes is defiantly a stupid idea and everybody who I’ve spoken to agrees.  Can you tell me your optician then I can get some special glasses from them .

John

[SteveO]

We have at least one roundabout down here that has more lanes than any of the roads entering or leaving it and the result is chaos.  The chump who designed it must have gone on the same traffic planning course as the person who designed the Norfolk roundabouts.

[Cockatoo]

So is this road fully open now?

 

Next week I will be driving from Brundall to Holt at some time and if it's open from the A47 to St Faiths that will save me loads of time

[Jbx5]

No not yet Steve , it’s open from the Wroxham rd roundabout up to the current end the other side of Taverham.  The rest to connect to the A47 is not far off now possibly 4 weeks although the weather last week put them back a bit.

John

[Grainside]

I have just read this thread and thought that I would comment. 

We moved to Lincolnshire from the Ashdown Forrest in Sussex in 1990 (originally brought up in Balham South London) because it was becoming increasingly overcrowded and we wanted the children to have a pleasant upbringing. Lincolnshire was lovely and old fashioned in those days. We lived in Old Bolingbroke .At the same time my brother, who lives in Surrey,  bought a second home in Mundesley which we have used frequently since. Our father brought us to Norfolk on holidays since we were tiny. I visit London frequently as I still have many friends there. We still live in rural Lincolnshire but now down a bungalow at Potter Heigham. I have therefore seen and experienced some parts of this country.

My comments. Lincolnshire has been ruined beyond all hope of repair. Starting with encouraging polish workers ,initiated by Gordon Brown, (individually the Polish seem nice people, I am not racist). English is not heard much in Boston anymore. A lot of the police are armed now. The town contains huge numbers of polish, lithuanions, Russians and Portuguese. English are not welcome in some pubs and shops.

This continued with huge amounts of social housing being built in every market town. People were and are encouraged to move from towns such as Leicester and Doncaster. There are no jobs for them and the infrastructure can't cope.

I could go on but suffice it to say, imho, Lincolnshire is a lost cause.

In all this time Norfolk has hardly changed. Sadly I have to say that I see Norfolk going the same way as Lincolnshire. What is happening around Norwich is the start. Decisions have been made with a minimum of consultation and plans are unstoppable. 

Sorry to be so negative and I hope I am wrong but these are just my observations and thoughts. 

 

[Paws]

I live in Spalding Lincs we have more jobs than people 

[MauriceMynah]

To Grainside,

Whilst I accept that it would be possible if excessive numbers of immigrants from one country went to one area in this country, that the area might suffer changes that would displease the original residents there but I have to say that to state that an entire county has been blighted in this way sounds very much an overstatement. To be honest, I have phrased that as tactfully as I can.

I have never been to Boston (yet) soi I can only base my views on what you say, how you say it and what I can (or believe I can) read between the lines. I have to say that for me to show my true feelings about your post, I would be breaking the ToS of this site.

I respect your right to your opinions, but on this occasion I cannot agree with them.

MM.

[BuffaloBill]

Sorry MM, but that is not overstated at all!

I agree with Grainside. We live in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and it is

much the same as Boston. Walking down the street, it seems that

about 70% of the spoken word is in a foreign language. It's no

longer the town we knew and as such we will be moving this year. 

I could add a lot more but would probably get modded......

Sorry for keeping this off topic...

[ExSurveyor]

Grainside,

Chatham town centre is the same,

 so are parts of Spain,  Portugal and any other areas where large numbers of British expats settle.

[TheQ]

The traffic lights just off of the NDR on the the Wroxham side of the roundabout have been removed,  but after the cafe, the hole in the road marked by cones is still there..

Yesterday I followed someone who is obviously used to being told what to do by the black bocx on the dashboard.

They drove past new signs and lane for the Rackheath turning, then Indicating and trying to turn into the Old Rackheath road., Coming to halt in the middle of the road blocking, traffic from both directions. Eventually turning back in to the straight on lane and no doubt listening to the words "recalculating route" before turning off at the next junction...

[grendel]

1 hour ago, MauriceMynah said:

To Grainside,

Whilst I accept that it would be possible if excessive numbers of immigrants from one country went to one area in this country, that the area might suffer changes that would displease the original residents there but I have to say that to state that an entire county has been blighted in this way sounds very much an overstatement. To be honest, I have phrased that as tactfully as I can.

I have never been to Boston (yet) soi I can only base my views on what you say, how you say it and what I can (or believe I can) read between the lines. I have to say that for me to show my true feelings about your post, I would be breaking the ToS of this site.

I respect your right to your opinions, but on this occasion I cannot agree with them.

MM.

thanks for remaining calm MM this isnt really on topic, and an avenue we really dont wish to be exploring here for fear of breaking the TOS and getting involved in politics which would invite  from us moderators.

Lets get back to the road and the confused roundabouts.

[Vaughan]

I don't know Lincolnshire and I shan't comment on immigration but I do greatly fear for the future of Norfolk as a rural county and I blame the NDR for a large part of that.

We all know that now it is there, the thousands of acres of farmland between it and the present outskirts of Norwich will be swallowed up by thousands of houses. We can't stop this as we know the farmers have already sold their land to the developers. The next thing will be expansion outwards and this is already rife in places such as Brundall and Wroxham. 

In addition it will never be a bypass of Norwich because of all those roundabouts. Every time you take an "artic" round a roundabout the fuel consumption goes up enormously. So heavy transport between the East Coast ports and the Midlands will continue to use the southern bypass even if the NDR ever does join up with the A47 north west of Norwich. So I see this as a cynical exercise in property development which is set to destroy the beauty of central Norfolk as I have always known it.

I hope this comment is not considered political as I don't see it as any different to our discussed fears for the future of Broadland, and the threats to it, that we perceive. The future of Broadland as a tourist attraction is very closely allied to the the future of Norfolk itself.

I just hope they are making up to date maps these days, or I shall never be able to find my way around, in May!

 

[vanessan]

1 hour ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Grainside,

Chatham town centre is the same,

 so are parts of Spain,  Portugal and any other areas where large numbers of British expats settle.

Try walking through Dover town centre. Sometimes I think they get off a ferry (or from the underside of a truck) and do not bother to try and get any further! 

I can imagine what areas of Spain and other places are like, walk down the road and all you hear are English voices.