Linda Hall: A roundabout way to go

Linda Hall, Assistant Editor, Hawke's Bay Today.

For the past few days I have been travelling from one city to the other before and after work. I've had a very important job to do — cat sitting in Greenmeadows.

The commute to and from work each day has been interesting to say the least.

Of course I have heard from lots of people, including texts and letters from readers, about the amount of traffic on the expressway. I recall one texter asking when the expressway was going to live up to its name.

Indeed — there is nothing express about it. I understand that roadworks are in progress and have been for some time between Pakipaki and Bay View but motorists are going to be a little dizzy by the time they get to the end of this expressway with all the roundabouts.

Maybe we could rename the region the Round and About.

There are roundabouts every which way you go.

I had my 8-year-old granddaughter in the car with me on the weekend when we were stuck in a long line of traffic at one of the roundabout construction sites.

She asked me why there were no traffic lights there any more and why there was a roundabout instead.

I explained that it was meant to make the traffic flow better by preventing traffic from stopping at red lights.

"It doesn't seem to be working," she replied - she's right.

The thing I really don't like about being stuck in a long queue of traffic is coming to a halt on the Tutaekuri River bridge.

Now I might be being a little paranoid about this, but when that bridge was built I'm pretty sure it was built to withstand traffic that was constantly flowing and back then the traffic flow would have been probably a quarter of what it is today.

Every day I've crept across the bridge at 5 to 10km an hour with a line of traffic in front and behind me.

The first time I saw a huge truck approaching the bridge on the other side of the road laden with logs and then a few cars behind it two more trucks were set to drive over the bridge.

My eyes darted ahead to see how far I had to go before I was off the bridge. Too late, the trucks were on the bridge — two of them at the same time.

Now my eyes darted to the side of the bridge — could I see the barrier wobbling — no but "how much can you take Mr Bridge", I whispered to myself.

I really hope someone has checked that out.

Don't even get me started on merging. I swear people put their foot down rather than let a car get in front of them.

Back to the roundabouts. Once you hit town the roundabouts become smaller.

Combine that with the rush to get home after work and drivers that don't give a toss and you have a very frustrating mix.

Some drivers are so impatient. It really is frustrating when the traffic is backed up going out of the roundabout and drivers enter anyway so they are sitting in the middle of the roundabout blocking traffic from moving on exits that aren't backed up.

It just compounds the problem — and nobody gets home any quicker.

While I have ranted here about drivers that some might say have blinkers on and have one thing on their mind and that's to get where they are going as fast as possible, I have also noticed that we do have lots of courteous drivers who let others into the traffic flow with a wave and a smile.

That's my kind of driver — just need to find out more about that bridge.

*Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today