Inner Ring Road

Twenty years ago it was suggested that I should precede my comments with IMHO. Sorry, but I don't have 'humble' opinions. One thing is absolutely true. I would have hated living in Coventry of the 1920s.

I just read another load of nonsense in the Telegraph. The canal basin bridge over the ring road is to be demolished and a pedestrian crossing will replace it. what is wrong with it the way it is? I honestly do not understand just how these people think.

Hi Norm They obviously don't think with a glass of Coventry ale. That is for sure.

Money money money comes to mind then because the bridge you can cross safely while a crossing if it's like the rest around town it's who dares wins. They have to cut down population some how. Just like doctors say not to drink, fact, if you drink moderately you live longer than if you don't drink at all so here's to you and Philip

I`ve read some of this thread, which amongst other things is the ring road and how it has affected life inside of it. And has been pointed out life in Coventry is different for each decade in which we were born, 40`s, 50`s, 60`s etc and some of us even before that. But the time that I remember most is when it was called "Boom Town", there was such a thrust of change in people`s life styles due to many people having wages "en masse" the like of which never managed to percolate down to Mr/Mrs average person and particularly youth. In the 50`s I used to be sent up town every Saturday morning to do the vegetable shop in the Market for the week for a family of four - that was quite a lot of bags to hoik onto the bus.Then we got the meat, usually from "Johnnie" Bausor - a large piece of beef regularly roast on Sunday, cold on Monday with 3veg, cold on Tuesday with 3 veg, left overs stewed on Wednesday. Dry groceries from Allwoods Atkins and Turton (what a lovely smell of roast coffee) and often bacon and other stuff from Sainsbury in Trinity St, when they were a shop not a supermarket - all carried home on the bus. Then came the 60`s. Sainsbury Supermarket, most of us had cars (there was an original Tesco in the arcade by the market, cannot remember the name, but I do remember the lumps of meat, congealed blood in loose plastic wrappings). But there was also a vast new housing effort going on multi flats, jack block, British Lift Slab, Truscons etc. and Wimpey "No fines". Factory tracks were kings, most people were on bonus for what they turned out, I remember my wife telling me people were regularly taking home £300 a week in the small engineering place she was at, that was the mid 1960`s - when I first went to sea in 1953 I got £11 per month (plus all found), I think a bus driver got £10 per week. The ring road had been necessary before the war, after the war, the centre of town was a stranglehold at rush hours, as was certain places in the outskirts - I remember the by-pass at Broad Lane was awful and we tried to get through by dodging through Mount Nod. I guess all I am saying is, yes it is awful, but necessary as times have changed and the whole way we live our lives also - the pace has quickened. The design of the RR, what is the accident rate - I always thought it was a nightmare

This Friday its the Coventry Ring Road 40th birthday Roisin from Coventry Free will be having a party to cellebrate at junction 7 of the Ring Road ballons will be released at each junction. Donations of 20 ballons a gentleman has already offered and a donation of a birthday cake too from a lady.

I'll happily donate a few cakes. They'll be designed to look like sticks of dynamite. And anyone who was using the RR on Mon/Tue there is the proof it doesn't work. The second it's put under any sort of pressure it buckles. At the moment it's only dealing with the level of traffic equivalent to a medium town, not a large city. If Coventry actually had the level of traffic a city this size should have the ring road shows it's not fit for purpose.

AD Pixrobin isn't TNT an explosive too

LOL. The RR was completed by 1975. It is not really surprising that it does not always cope too well with traffic levels FORTY years later. Write to the council suggesting a plan where the RR could be widened into a three lane highway or more such that it will be able to cope with traffic flow in 2050.

I find the RR easy to use and so do my friends that visit me, what makes it a bind is idiots in cars that can't be bothered to move that little plastic stick to indicate, or look in their mirrors. I ride an old Triumph Motorcycle and have no indicators or mirrors, I use my arms to indicate and turn my head to check behind me whilst using the clutch/front brake/rear brake throttle and gears and get on and off the RR with ease, it's the best way to get round the city from all the points on a compass IMHO.

Catshed, sssshhhh. They'll be using the black things on the doors which tell them if they've parked too close to something as weapons to knock you off your motorcycle. Ride a Honda for a while.