For anyone who reads this blog regularly, or looks at the archived posts, I always try and follow up on stories I’ve blogged about before. Call it tying up loose ends or being like a dog with a bone, I like to plot progress. Especially when it comes to Hull.
When I posted about the looming upgrade of Castle Street back in June, I should have known that the estimated time-scales would fly out the window.
Latest reports suggest that work might not start for another five years, so that’s more endless queues and frustration to look forward to.
So Hull City’s fans are some of the quietest in the Premiership, according to Sky Sport’s Noise League.
| Top three clubs | Bottom three clubs |
|---|---|
| Stoke 101.8dB | Wigan 86.06dB |
| Tottenham 97.58dB | Hull 84.6dB |
| Liverpool 95.4dB | Sunderland 84.05dB |
I wasn’t even at the game against Man City on Saturday, but I could certainly hear the “Come on you Hull” chants, and as I drove past at the end of the game the general banter continued as the fans poured out of the stadium.
Yorkshire and Humberside are falling behind on their transport infrastructure and once again it comes down to the usual problem: money.
A report by the ICE (Institute of Civil Engineers) states that Yorkshire and Humberside receive the lowest transport funding than any other region in the UK.
Traffic management in Hull. Not my favourite topic of conversation at the moment following my attempts to make it across the City in rush hour. Not the best time to try either, admittedly, but it’s a pretty common complaint amongst those who sit in a pool of frustration and boredom in the gridlock day after day.
So, what is the general opinion on Hull City Council’s ideas, and the numerous suggestions which have been flying around, for solving the problem?
One of the ideas I’ve heard of is a car-free City Centre, where cars and commercial traffic will be banned from going into an “environmental zone”. Other than deliveries to shops and offices during restricted hours, only buses and cyclists will be able to whiz though the centre, dodging pedestrians as they happily breeze through.
Widening the main roads into the City and creating more bus lanes is another idea that has been thrown into the hat of tricks, along with upgrading the existing gridlocked ring road route. You may be sensing my scepticism.
I am, however, delighted to see that Council officials have ruled out a London-style congestion charge, which surely would have been a death sentence for our vibrant City. I’m also pleased to see that Council’s are taking positive steps towards developing park-and-ride schemes.
Even so, there can be no doubt that every single driver is dreading the looming £200m upgrade of Castle Street, which will see Hull’s busiest road restricted to a single lane in each direction for up to four years. Don’t worry though, if you get caught stuck in traffic and are unable to make it across the city, you can always use Cityvisitor to find the nearest B&B or pub in Hull to pass away the time.
