A new Ferrari emerges from the five-star Lowry Hotel. It must be great having such a special car… literally anywhere else than Chapel Street, I think.
That’s because, like the Italian supercar driver, I’m trapped in the roadworks which have brought Salford to standstill at times since they closed this street one-way last week.
It’s to install new bike lanes, extra room for pedestrians, and more space for buses. And it will be in place for a year.
By the time I see the Ferrari, it’s taken me roughly 30 minutes to go about 300 yards. I’m subjecting myself to this mental torture to see just how bad traffic is after motorists complained of ‘one hour’ queues last week, and one photo showed 40 buses gridlocked on Thursday night (May 8).
I set off down Chapel Street from the Regent Road Sainsbury’s, went down to Blackfriars Road where I turned left, and then turned left onto Trinity Way, before going right again up Chapel Street to close.
In total, my journey was about three miles and lasted 51 minutes. But it took 36 minutes to drive the 350 yards of roadworks.
On the way, it felt like the rules of the road were thrown out of the window — a lady undertook me on my left to turn right onto a side road. As she asked the van in front of my car to edge forward, she dinged her door on my car because she was so close, squeezing into an old bike lane.
Cyclists either rode against the traffic or on the pavements, as there was no way of navigating this part of Chapel Street on two wheels without using the snarled-up, exhaust-fume-filled Trinity Way.
Horns were sounded in frustration, not as a warning to other road users. Cars and buses were blocking junctions as they tried to fight through the jam.
To top it all off, a bird pood on my freshly-washed car, because I was stuck underneath a pigeon’s nest for 15 minutes.
A fun Tuesday morning? Absolutely not.
It’s worth saying at this point, driving through the city centre is something I’d never normally do.
I’ve lived in town, including this part of Salford, for seven years with a car and I’ve come to learn the secret to making driving in the city centre bearable is knowing when not to set off, and 8am on a Tuesday is definitely one of those times.
But there are plenty of people who don’t have the option not to drive in rush hour. On my way, I saw countless vans getting to jobs and making deliveries.
Plenty of packed buses were also stuck, full of workers trying to get to their desk, or college students making their way to the classroom.
There are so many buses here because this part of Salford has never had the tram, and Salford Central railway station has only just reopened to passengers after being shut for two months for a revamp.
Road is the only way to get around here. And undoubtedly, traffic has been worsened by the Chapel Street roadworks.
But Salford council, the architects of the project, says the ‘one-way closure on Chapel Street represents the best solution currently available to deliver the works safely and efficiently’.
Even though that may be the case, it means a lot of people will be frustrated until April next year. If you want my advice, don’t do what I did this Tuesday morning.
