The A80/M80

Moderators: John, Sharon, Fossil, Lucky Poet, crusty_bint, Jazza, dazza

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Boxer6 » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:37 pm

My Kitten wrote:
floweredpig wrote:Where the hell have you been?


aye, where have you been, i've missed you.

Agree with the A80, grew up in noddy land so had the joy of it every day from the age of 17 onwards. Hellish

My bros friend dad died in an accident in his tuck there. Horrible way to go it was( as if any death is!!)

should've been sorted out years ago that road.


2½ years, £320 million ~ all to add a bloody hard-shoulder on each side!!! I only hope they do, in fact, make the entry and exit ramps more user-friendly compared to the russian roulette efforts we have currently.

I've been off work for the last 5 months, with probably another 2 or 3 to go; driving that road twice a day is the one single thing I'm not missing about it all!!!
Some people hear voices.. Some see invisible people.. Others have no imagination whatsoever.
User avatar
Boxer6
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1085
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:49 pm
Location: What's it called?

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Dave » Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:28 am

Icecube wrote:You might feel a bit different about it Dave if the new motorway was built at the bottom of your garden. Just for the convenience of commuters.


Well I'm guessing you did have a choice in where you live, right? I chose banjo country, mud roads n'all so that really won't wash with me.

They are doing mre than a wee skirt down the sides, the M80 rather that being abruptly terminated in a high speed 90' bend it will just scoot on until it joins just before Condorrat, thus missing the death traffic light run. Even with the upgrades the road will be over capacity upon completion so at least if the traffic is moving it will be over nice smooth tarmac which will be better for the local residents than the current road surface.
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.
www.davehouston.co.uk
Dave
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 2779
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:24 am
Location: Uzbekistan

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Icecube » Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:31 pm

Dave wrote:
Icecube wrote:You might feel a bit different about it Dave if the new motorway was built at the bottom of your garden. Just for the convenience of commuters.


Well I'm guessing you did have a choice in where you live, right? I chose banjo country, mud roads n'all so that really won't wash with me.


Suppose I should consider myself lucky right enough Dave, anything probably beats Banjo country. ::):

On a more serious note however! This road is being Designed, Financed, Built and Operated (DFBO) by a German company registered in Luxembourg though they've subbied the actual building out to an Irish company.
The 'upgrade' through Cumbernauld is being done on the cheap and through the old 3 lanes into 2 trick will result in as much tailbacks as there was in the days of the Auchenkilns roundabout.

Happy motoring.
Icecube
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 371
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:22 pm

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Boxer6 » Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:44 am

It's one thing having a choice of where you live, and quite another to have such major construction foisted upon you no matter what you actually want. It isn't that long since all the upheaval of Auchenkilns (and what a Feck up that was) and this is already much worse than that. I don't envy anyone who lives next to these works, especially as it was only fairly recently that it was finally given the green light.

Herself's cousin used to live right next to the A80, and received a rather hefty payment for "inconvenience during the works" some time ago. Don't suppose she passed it on to the folk that bought her house though!
Some people hear voices.. Some see invisible people.. Others have no imagination whatsoever.
User avatar
Boxer6
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1085
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:49 pm
Location: What's it called?

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Icecube » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:11 pm

Image
Icecube
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 371
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:22 pm

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Dave » Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:30 pm

If you live next to this *improvement* then up until now you'd have known the road was shite, despite 25 years of *improvements* the road is still shite, just a new level of shite. Sure you can run a full size wagon up it, sure you don't have to dice with death at Auchenkilns but all those improvements just meant you ran into the Cumbernauld onramps quicker which in effect just made the problem worse. Of course the benefit of this was that fewer people got killed.

I remember when you had to go through Stepps to get to Cumbernauld, that must have been a nightmare for the residents as was losing much of the passing trade the route provided to local businesses
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.
www.davehouston.co.uk
Dave
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 2779
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:24 am
Location: Uzbekistan

Re: The A80/M80

Postby mrsam » Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:51 pm

small point, why is the road bad? well it's because we have too many cars on it. Make it bigger and it just gets crowded and takes over more land. We ned to reduce the amount of travelling done by motorists. (And before you lot ask I travel by public transport)

However yer right it is pish that its a constant stream of roadworks....

Mr Sam
Hmmm I wonder what happens if i press that lever.... Ahh It operates that shiny new plug socket!

www..photobucket.com/albums/ll103/thecuriocollector

www..photobucket.com/albums/v195/tarbat2003
User avatar
mrsam
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 583
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:15 am
Location: Ex Stirling ex Annisland now Huddersfield

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Glesga_Steve » Sun Nov 08, 2009 12:59 am

mrsam wrote:small point, why is the road bad? well it's because we have too many cars on it. Make it bigger and it just gets crowded and takes over more land. We ned to reduce the amount of travelling done by motorists. (And before you lot ask I travel by public transport)


The vast majority of motorists will never be persuaded to swap private car use for public transport.

If you live in the 'burbs, work in the city centre and simply need to get from one to the other with no intermediate stop-offs then, fair enough, you should be able to get from home to 'desk' reasonably easily and efficiently (in terms of both time and cost) - it would be sensible to use public transport rather than a car in this type of situation and people should therefore be encouraged to take this option whenever possible. I used to do that myself in my younger days when I worked in offices above Queen Street train station and could get from my front door to the ofice in under 25 mins if I timed it right.

Once you're used to the 'luxury' of being able to drive whenever and wherever takes your fancy though, returning to the use of public transport on a regular basis would not be something done through positive choice for most people I expect. I certainly can't see myself ever doing it no matter what may be done in terms of improvements to public transport facilities/infrastructure or real-time reductions in fares, etc.

The only thing that will make people desist from the use of cars is necessity and, by and large, that would be influenced by financial issues such as being unable to afford a car, fuel, insurance, road tax, etc, etc. As long as people can afford to drive their car then I expect the significant majority will continue to do so.

I don't think our public transport system is that bad in all honesty but, based on my infrequent use of them, factors such as the significantly longer (compared to car) bus journey times; inconvienence of cancelled trains; having to stand waiting in the wind/rain/snow; putting up with drunks/morons; etc all add up to an experience that I only choose when driving isn't an option (e.g. when I am going on a night out and won't be in any fit state to drive at the end of it). The occasional encountering of traffic congestion is a small price to pay for the many benefits that a car affords you.

Besides anything else, in the case of the A80/M80 and our other trunk roads I would say that most of the journeys involving them are probably of the type that couldn't be made by public transport except possibly at high cost and significant inconvienence (that's more of a view than an informed statement of fact so no need for anyone to demand '"evidence").

On a positive (for public transport) note though, I am looking forward to the completion of the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line reopening as being able to travel by train to Edinburgh city centre from my local station is one of the rare examples when I would choose to use public transport rather than my car.
User avatar
Glesga_Steve
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 674
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:46 am

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Josef » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:40 am

I think you're absolutely right, Steve.

I've never driven a car in my life, btw, but I note (whenever I get the train or a lift to somewhere otherwise inaccessible), the number of housing estates springing up in places that simply will never be economic to provide public transport to. Fields in the middle of nowhere, etc. Planning permission should never, in my opinion, have been granted to these places.
User avatar
Josef
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 8144
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:43 pm

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:09 am

Image

Once you're used to the 'luxury' of being able to drive whenever and wherever takes your fancy though,


Whilst sitting on the M8 I quite often say that.
Regardless of how long it takes you and how much you spend getting there and how much we're prepared to pay for new roads.

Image
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
User avatar
Dexter St. Clair
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 6252
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:54 pm

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Glesga_Steve » Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:23 pm

Dexter St. Clair wrote:Whilst sitting on the M8 I quite often say that.
Regardless of how long it takes you and how much you spend getting there and how much we're prepared to pay for new roads.


A large element of need comes into my daily commute (e.g. I drop my eldest daughter off at school on my to work and regularly use my car for work purposes) but yes, even in the absence of factors such as that, I would still choose my car over a bus/train for the overwhelming majority of journeys.

I rarely have to crawl along in the congestion on the M8 (or any other road) as I find that simply coming off it and finding an alternative route gets you to your destination in a reasonable timescale. I'm fortunate in that I don't have to cross the Clyde to make the home-work journey as that obviously limits your options.

There are many routes I can take to get from home to work without using the M8, my normal 'worst-case scenario' (i.e. backed up beyond Jct 11) option being as shown below.

Image

With my employer having so thoughtfully decided to shut Blochairn Road for 6 months, the above has changed to the below.

Image

I rarely encounter significant congestion on any of the alternative routes I take and none of them involve any more than a 15 minute increase in journey time.

It never ceases to amaze me that people are prepared to sit in M8 idling traffic from Baillieston Interchange all the way to the city centre. There are so many other routes they could take yet they don't - the only explanation can be that they have never bothered their backsides trying to work out alternative routes.

It pays to learn your way around or, if you're going somewhere you don't travel to/through often, have a road map/street atlas in the car (I don't trust those Sat Nav devices - I prefer good old map reading). Obviously the more remote an area you are in then the more dificult that becomes but how often is that the case?
User avatar
Glesga_Steve
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 674
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:46 am

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Boxer6 » Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:11 pm

I do try and miss out major roads at rush hour whenever possible! Thing is, if even a fraction of those sitting in the jams on the M8 did find alternative routes they would, no doubt, impinge on your own, rendering them useless.

Mind you, I suppose you could get back on to the M8 and have a clear run!! :)
Some people hear voices.. Some see invisible people.. Others have no imagination whatsoever.
User avatar
Boxer6
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1085
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:49 pm
Location: What's it called?

Re: The A80/M80

Postby hungryjoe » Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:29 am

Glesga_Steve wrote:
Dexter St. Clair wrote:Whilst sitting on the M8 I quite often say that.
Regardless of how long it takes you and how much you spend getting there and how much we're prepared to pay for new roads.


A large element of need comes into my daily commute (e.g. I drop my eldest daughter off at school on my to work and regularly use my car for work purposes) but yes, even in the absence of factors such as that, I would still choose my car over a bus/train for the overwhelming majority of journeys.

I rarely have to crawl along in the congestion on the M8 (or any other road) as I find that simply coming off it and finding an alternative route gets you to your destination in a reasonable timescale. I'm fortunate in that I don't have to cross the Clyde to make the home-work journey as that obviously limits your options.

There are many routes I can take to get from home to work without using the M8, my normal 'worst-case scenario' (i.e. backed up beyond Jct 11) option being as shown below.

Image

With my employer having so thoughtfully decided to shut Blochairn Road for 6 months, the above has changed to the below.

Image

I rarely encounter significant congestion on any of the alternative routes I take and none of them involve any more than a 15 minute increase in journey time.

It never ceases to amaze me that people are prepared to sit in M8 idling traffic from Baillieston Interchange all the way to the city centre. There are so many other routes they could take yet they don't - the only explanation can be that they have never bothered their backsides trying to work out alternative routes.

It pays to learn your way around or, if you're going somewhere you don't travel to/through often, have a road map/street atlas in the car (I don't trust those Sat Nav devices - I prefer good old map reading). Obviously the more remote an area you are in then the more dificult that becomes but how often is that the case?

You pull pints at The Inn in Lambhill? :P


I have to drive to Memus near Brechin and back, from Stevenston on Hogmanay, is there any feasible route avoiding the A/M 80?
Multi dinero, multi ficky fick, multi divorce.
User avatar
hungryjoe
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 1746
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:26 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: The A80/M80

Postby dave2 » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:35 am

Google maps suggests that M8/A90 is only 2 minutes longer than A80/M80/A9/A90 under normal circumstances anyway. As long as the Forth Road Bridge is open that should be an easy route, especially with the new motorway link M9-Forth Road Bridge. Both ways it suggests Dundee-Perth-Forth Road Bridge (i.e stay on A90/M90) not A92 through Fife.
User avatar
dave2
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 611
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:03 am
Location: Home, or Uni, or Work

Re: The A80/M80

Postby Glesga_Steve » Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:12 pm

hungryjoe wrote:You pull pints at The Inn in Lambhill? :P

The Glen Douglas is closer to my workplace actually - The Inn is about half a mile up the road.

hungryjoe wrote:I have to drive to Memus near Brechin and back, from Stevenston on Hogmanay, is there any feasible route avoiding the A/M 80?

Stevenston to Angus? I'd second Dave's suggestion of M8, Forth Road Bridge, A/M90.
User avatar
Glesga_Steve
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 674
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:46 am

PreviousNext

Return to Around the World

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests