henshaw11
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Walton-On-Thames
He's the Honorable Member (insert pun of choice) for neighboring Weybridge. It's be nice if got his ass on a bike round there, then he might realise a) the roads are sh*te b) the cyclepaths - when they're there - are sh*te.
Errr...no.
IIRC about 20 years ago it was a national and at some point - mebbe 10 years ago - was changed to 50mph from just south of the Hook roundabout nr Tolworth from there into London. Why that was done I can't say, but I can think of several possibilities, and all very good reasons why it really *shouldn't* be more than the 50 that it is.
A 70mph limit produces a not insignificant amount of noise pollution, and not just for those resident on the road - noise travels.
There's several points on the road where the slip road on/off the A3 is virtually none existent - it's a corner.
Since this *is* a cycle forum, I shouldn't need to add it's a permissible cycle route - the last thing you need is it being treated as a motorway. Which the more southern part of the A3 is, to all intents and purposes, despite the helpful signs around the M25 junction suggesting how the sliproads should be negotiated on a bicycle...
As far as cycling on it is concerned it's a very direct route from Tolworth/Chessington/Esher etc - otherwise you have to start detouring via Kingston etc. There's parts that are already potentially hazardous, such as elevated sections and crossing the longer sliproads. One of the few times I've actually felt scared on a bike was riding the lefthander just north of the Coombe Lane flyover, all you can do is hope the numpties coming up from behind are concentrating on what they're doing. Having since come close to being rear-ended at night on the dual carriageway A308 (either a 50 or a national at the time), despite the section in question being long and fairly straight and me being well-lit, it's not without reason.
When a road's 'improved'/widened it's potentionally a no-go area for cycling - in the past I've happily ridden the A23 in/out of Brighton years ago when it was just a road between the two large obelisks just south of Pycombe. Now it's effectively a f***ing motorway - the obelisks probably ought to be moved somewhere else and spared the ignominy of one in the central reservation and t'other on the on the hard shoulder...
Errr...no.
IIRC about 20 years ago it was a national and at some point - mebbe 10 years ago - was changed to 50mph from just south of the Hook roundabout nr Tolworth from there into London. Why that was done I can't say, but I can think of several possibilities, and all very good reasons why it really *shouldn't* be more than the 50 that it is.
A 70mph limit produces a not insignificant amount of noise pollution, and not just for those resident on the road - noise travels.
There's several points on the road where the slip road on/off the A3 is virtually none existent - it's a corner.
Since this *is* a cycle forum, I shouldn't need to add it's a permissible cycle route - the last thing you need is it being treated as a motorway. Which the more southern part of the A3 is, to all intents and purposes, despite the helpful signs around the M25 junction suggesting how the sliproads should be negotiated on a bicycle...
As far as cycling on it is concerned it's a very direct route from Tolworth/Chessington/Esher etc - otherwise you have to start detouring via Kingston etc. There's parts that are already potentially hazardous, such as elevated sections and crossing the longer sliproads. One of the few times I've actually felt scared on a bike was riding the lefthander just north of the Coombe Lane flyover, all you can do is hope the numpties coming up from behind are concentrating on what they're doing. Having since come close to being rear-ended at night on the dual carriageway A308 (either a 50 or a national at the time), despite the section in question being long and fairly straight and me being well-lit, it's not without reason.
When a road's 'improved'/widened it's potentionally a no-go area for cycling - in the past I've happily ridden the A23 in/out of Brighton years ago when it was just a road between the two large obelisks just south of Pycombe. Now it's effectively a f***ing motorway - the obelisks probably ought to be moved somewhere else and spared the ignominy of one in the central reservation and t'other on the on the hard shoulder...
