Tag: Ring Road

December 23rd – Tired, horrid day, washed out. The end of a working day. Heavy with a headache, buffeted by the wind, and finding the roads hostile despite the lighter traffic, I headed home from work for the last time in 2014.

I whipped the camera out as I waited on the lights at the Arboretum Junction, and as I usually do, watched the traffic move past in a blur.

Only the clocktower and the traffic light remain constant. 

I was glad to get home. Glad to finish the year. And so, a holiday, family time and fun, and then a new year.

That’ll do; that’ll do.

December 8th – A shock today, commuting on a cold, hard morning with the wind against me; I noticed today that the leaves had gone and winter was truly here. It was chilly, and I felt it in my bones.

The sun shone, though, and passing on the Ring Road, I noticed the site of the proposed new cinema between Tesco and Stafford Street in Walsall had been cleared of scrub and it looks like work might be about to start here.

It’ll be interesting to see what develops.

November 27th – A difficult day. I had to dash back from Walsall and I’d forgotten my camera, so had to use the phone. This one doesn’t take too bad pictures, to be fair.

As I left work, the sun was trying to come out, and it caught the glass of the Walsall Housing Group offices on the ring road, and made it golden.

A patch of beauty on a hectic day.

February 18th – A great sky tonight, and a good sunset although I wasn’t in a good place to catch it. The day had been showery, but mostly dry and sunny, with a low wind. I really feel right now that the weather is, at last, settling down a bit. 

I was on the lookout for good views of the sky on my way home from Walsall, and found myself unable to get any, but plenty of urban textures and skylines.

I bet it was beautiful at Chasewater, or up on Barr Beacon…

From November 6th – Walsall new ring road, Green Lane Junction about 5:10pm, Wednesday 6th November 2013. I didn’t feel it safe to stop as the guy behind was stuck to me like a wet T-shirt. This is far from unique driver behaviour here – get in the wrong lane trying to queue jump, then bugger everyone else trying to sort it out.

More of this run later.

Best viewed large by clicking on the youtube logo, and click on the wee gear symbol and select 1080 for best video quality.

July 11th – My dislike of the Arboretum Junction in Walsall knows no end. It seems difficult for most users – be they motorised or human powered. It’s particularly bad for pedestrians, who have to use multiple crossings to cross one road – so a simple negotiation can involve four or five waits. It’s horrid.

I noticed this lady yesterday evening. She was still negotiating the junction when I crossed, and I felt quite sorry for her – by road is the easiest way, but it’s very, very intimidating. Nice bike, though, and it looks well used.

The traffic engineers who thought this batshit crazy junction up should be forced to cross in on foot for perpetuity.

July 6th – Aboretum Junction, Walsall, evening rush hour. It had been raining, so excuse the poor image quality.

Increasingly, I see motorists trying to bypass the junction and beat the queue by cutting from Lower Rushall Street, up the slip road and across to the other one on to the ring road west. It’s not illegal (at least I don’t think so) but they often do it without consideration and at high speed. Someone really is going to get wiped out here, but I’m not sure what can be done to stop it.

January 19th – A wet, miserable commute. It rained as soon as I left the house, and stopped just as I got to work. The new Ring Road in Walsall was living up to its reputation – drains all along the stretch between Littleton Street and Pleck Road were blocked, and the road surface was awash with standing water, particularly opposite Smiths Mill. This led to a liberal dousing of spray with every passing vehicle. Remind me why I do this again?