I wonder how many people will experience traffic, rain, midges, crowds, high prices etc in the UK this year, while crammed inside thier New camper/tent/caravan, and go scuttling back to Spain next year?

I can but hope.

I want them all gone. New Countryside Users, New Domestic Holidaymakers, New Rural Dwellers, all of them. To the pubs, shopping centres, restaurants, football stadiums, cities, Spain, … anywhere. Where I go in my free time (evenings, weekends, time off work) isn’t really any different pandemic or not, but now I have to put up with these pests some way or another wherever I go or at least on my way there. This includes the responsible and respectful ones I’m afraid. More people are just automatically worse in the places I go and activities I do. Yes I’m selfish and feel entitled, after decades that’s what grows.

Impossible to completely avoid heavy traffic…thats a consequence of politicians not having the backbone to build more roads in the last 30 years or so as the number of cars has significantly increased…what did people expect?

And nothing to do with people’s reliance on cars?

Every time new roads are built they fill up with cars. The solution to traffic isn’t more roads.

Comparing current numbers we’re seeing locally with old photos suggests there’s nothing nothing unprecedented with the the total number of visitors we’re seeing if you go back to the pre-package cheap flight era.

The difference is the very high proportion arriving by car, used to be multiple dozens of coach loads along with rail passengers.

The answer, on the frankly wild assumption these numbers are sustained year on year, is most definitely not more roads.

As Alpin says – more roads = more traffic. You cannot build your way out of traffic congestion

Despite all the negativity, I am hopeful that this year of staycation might motivate some folk to holiday around the UK in future.

I met a couple on bikes yesterday who asked for directions – they were staying in Callander having never been to Scotland before and were so happy about the week of riding they had been having, and the stunning scenery.

If you think that all these staycationers are bad. You’re obviously not from Edinburgh. The festivals are all of this nonsense 100 times worse.

And nothing to do with people’s reliance on cars?

Every time new roads are built they fill up with cars. The solution to traffic isn’t more roads.

Ha…that old chestnut. The population of the country has unexpectedly exploded in the last 30 years or so, so why would building more roads not be part of the solution…just like we need to build more houses…more hospitals, more schools etc. the whole nations infrastructure has to increase in capacity to cater for the population explosion.

Unless people have sussed out a way to drive two cars at once how is the traffic going to increase? the traffic is the constant and we want to distribute it over more road capacity to decrease the congestion. Quite simple really. You can beat the drum about peoples reliance on cars all you like, but wake up…we live in a modern diverse country and not a city nation like Singapore, and people lead diverse lives and place a premium on convenience over everything. We cant rely on trains and busses….get out of the big towns and cities and you’ve got no chance…not unless we build ten more HS2’s and other train lines and more roads for the buses to run on….

https://twitter.com/Wass2020/status/1419298244400762885?s=19

so why would building more roads not be part of the solution

Climate change. you can’t build out of it. you can’t drive out of it.

And then lets consider the size of cars, take a first generation mini and compare it to the current generation! Reduce the average size of cars and you will gain a shocking amount of road space.

Unless people have sussed out a way to drive two cars at once how is the traffic going to increase? the traffic is the constant and we want to distribute it over more road capacity to decrease the congestion.

I believe the point is that when the roads become less congested, such as when new roads open up, more people choose to drive over other methods of transport, thus eliminating the benefit of the new roads.

Yes I’m selfish and feel entitled,

Those weren’t the first two words that sprang to mind to describe your attitude, I’ll be honest

ajantom

We’re in Devon, but luckily not an over-touristy town…unless you’re really into Samuel Taylor Coleridge 😉

Not planning on going anywhere further than the beach or Dartmoor, and then it’ll be at sensible times of day to avoid grockles.

A30 was closed due to a fatal crash a couple of weeks ago (probably the jam someone mentioned earlier in the thread).

Unfortunately, rather than follow the proper diversion, every **** tried to take a ‘short cut’ through our small, narrow Laned town.
That was fun.

I’m on my sisters farm in Venn Ottery/Southerton very quiet, Ottery is not the town to have traffic diverted through!!! Came down from the Wirral two Saturdays ago and it was an easy journey 4hrs 5mins  🙂

So we’re on a cycling forum and people are seriously arguing more roads are the answer to congestion. Jeez.

Unless people have sussed out a way to drive two cars at once how is the traffic going to increase?

Because not everyone (who could) will use roads now (because they’re congested). But building more capacity (for a short time at least) will relieve the problem, as the current volume of traffic has more space…word gets out and the now “empty” road attract more users…road soon fills up again.

That’s how.

how is the traffic going to increase?

As the others have said – people drive more – things like deciding the new road makes commutting easier so they move to a place where they can commutte on the new roads etc etc

yo also get the effect of just moving the congestion to somewhere else – ie build a new bypass, traffic goes up and flows OK on the new bit but the old bit of road further on there is now more traffic so thats gets congested.

We are just back from our holiday, massive road trip from Scottish Borders to Bristol to Cornwall to Herefordshire to Buckinghamshire to Borders. Just under 2000 miles driven altogether. Most of it was superb with hardly any meaningful traffic, last night we drove back from Oxford to Borders in under 6 hours, including brief stop.

A crash on the A30 a few weeks ago resulted in a 9hr trip back to Bristol from Cornwall for my parents!

I know all about that one, it was on the day we drove Bristol to Cornwall (via Stonehenge). Google saw me through it with epic diversions along tiny C roads for hour after hour.

Unfortunately, rather than follow the proper diversion, every **** tried to take a ‘short cut’ through our small, narrow Laned town.

There wasn’t a diversion in place when we got there, just a road closed sign. Had no choice but to put trust in Google

There’s around 56 million adults in the U.K. and around 32 million cars.

Theres literally millions of people who could join the rest of us as part of the problem

55% of all rail journeys are undertaken by commuters so not being able to rely on it (frustrating as it can be at times) is bobbins. No idea on busses personally but loads of people locally use them for commuting so I’m calling that bobbins too. And 83.9% of the U.K. lives in an urban location.