for/from Mike Ferguson
Have you been on the motorway lately?
Miles and miles and miles of reduced speed
for the building of a so-called ‘smart’ motorway
which will actually just mean digital signage
here and there, miles of turgid roadworks, and
no time to have a stretch around Birmingham.
There was a time when one could bomb
up the motorway trouble free; I don’t believe
any roads today can cope with today’s traffic.
Hope today with weekend allows you to refresh.
As I said, apart from having to stop regularly
for lunch, 6 hours is a pretty damn fine drive.
© Rupert M Loydell
Illustration: Claire Palmer
Saw a car stuck in an ex hard-shoulder on a ‘smart’ section of motorway the other day, where the signs had failed. The motorway must have slipped into dumb mode.
Comment by Lawrence on 20 April, 2019 at 11:11 amHard shoulders should be left empty, that’s my opinion!
But we should appreciate the past visual optimism of motorways while we can. [The Forton (now Lancaster) Tower is best of all. Or is that just me?]
Hopefully, in 20 years they’ll all be re-purposed or overgrown and people will learn to appreciate the places they can visit by walking or cycling, taking a train or bus.