I went down to Paignton yesterday to have a look at how the work on the new level crossing gates was going. The crossing had been closed at 22:00 on Saturday night and all the barriers and barrier posts had been removed but there was no work going on at the site. It was a Sunday so maybe all the workers were christians and refused to work on a Sunday. As this crossing is going to be closed for over two weeks this seemed to me and other people I spoke to a ridiculous waste of time.
Two other problems I noticed; first the number of people using the footbridge. I a 5 minutes period I counted 125 people going over the bridge and this was a quiet, dull, wet Sunday afternoon. That's 1500 people an hour and the bridge isn't exactly wide. What it will be like on a busy weekday, well think of getting into a football match, say Man U v Man City, would give you some idea. The second problem could be more serious. Traffic coming along Hyde Road has no advanced warning that Torbay Rd is closed, no notices saying "Diversion. No left Turn Ahead". The first any driver would know about the road closure would be going round the bend in the photo and seeing barriers across Torbay Rd. Yesterday when it was quiet there were one or two sudden application of brakes as drivers discovered at the last minute that they couldn't take the left turn they were expecting to make followed by a couple of seconds of hesitation while they worked out what to do next. So watch out if you are driving along Hyde Road for the next two weeks.
If you are looking for one of the new Enviro 400s on the 12 route I have been told by a usually reliable source that there will be at least one out to day, maybe more.
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