Letter: We Need More Yellow Boxes and Enforcement

Published on: 28 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 27 Jun, 2025

From N Rockcliff

In response to: Drivers Caught in Yellow Box Junctions at the Dennis Roundabout Paid £81k to SCC

Gavin Morgan complains about blockages on the gyratory system; these can be frustrating and I agree that an examination of the timing of the traffic lights on all the junctions might be useful.

However in my long experience, the biggest problems are caused by:

a) traffic which does enter and sit in the two yellow boxes (Farnham Road junction and A281 junction), especially on the latter where traffic entering from the A281 and heading to the station or further round the gyratory sits across the box blocking the flow for those heading for the Portsmouth Road and the A31 ; strong enforcement of these yellow boxes would help;

b) the lack of yellow boxes at the junction of Bridge Street and Onslow Street immediately after the Friary /Wetherspoons pedestrian crossings and also on Park Street after the lights where the Portsmouth Road feeds into the gyratory. The former is particularly bad with Onslow Street traffic crossing the pedestrian crossing and backing up in the lanes for the A3100 Portsmouth Road and the A31 completely blocking access from Bridge Street to the A281 and North Street lanes. I have written to SCC suggesting they put in a yellow box here (and enforce it) but have received no reply or acknowledgment.

It would also help if drivers entering the gyratory system immediately entered the correct lane for their journey through the system rather then trying to gain an advantage by using a faster moving lane and then trying to cut into their correct lane shortly before their exit.

Responses to Letter: We Need More Yellow Boxes and Enforcement

Jim Allen Reply

June 28, 2025 at 1:31 pm

There is a radical argument that all restrictions should be removed from such a road system; all traffic lights bus lanes and road markings and let the traffic ‘settle’ into patterns, with video footage to identify the flow patterns and solidify the results with appropriate road markings set after three to five months.

Contrived traffic light timings, speed limits bus lanes etc are merely poltical control of people’s habits and have nothing to do with improved traffic flow or pollution reduction or pressure driving people onto buses.
Paul Robinson Reply

June 29, 2025 at 5:38 pm

On a related issue there are the people who block roundabouts when their exit is not clear. A good example is the Woodruff Avenue roundabout where the majority of traffic is going “straight on” towards Guildford or towards the Green Man roundabout.

Although these drivers cannot clear the roundabout because of the queue ahead of them, they block the roundabout preventing vehicles coming out of Weylea Avenue, for example, being able to emerge and turn right towards Guildford even though that route is clear of congestion.

The same applies when the pedestrian crossing lights turn red and cars queue across the roundabout preventing vehicles emerging from Woodruff Avenue and turning right.

It is pure selfishness, “I can’t proceed on my journey so nobody else should be able to either.”