Red route shambles - came home.

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Suprastar
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Joined: Thu 30 Apr 2015, 12:06 pm

Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Suprastar »

Having set off at 6am this morning and been looking forward to another RIAT pilgrimage, I feel totally let down and frustrated with the traffic management.

We rolled up smoothly and in time right until the point we got to the end of runaway 9 where are the freeloaders gather (whom btw, had a much better experience than us). Then the traffic stopped. Complete ground to a halt at 10am. The traffic marshals eventually split the traffic into two columns and diverted us to the blue zone right through a small village. By now it was 4 hours driving at a snails pace and after missing the reds and F35 I just wanted to abandon the car and walk and find a loo as we were all bursting by now. When we finally arrived at the Blue zone, a guy in army uniform asked for a ticket then told us to enter the next entrance. Once there a police officer said we had missed the entrance and now had to join the loop back at the red car park. Absolute shambles. Sorry to say after 8hours in the car we turned off at the nearest exit and returned home.
Sorry RIAT. Big fail from us this year.

canard67
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by canard67 »

My target time for the end of the runway would be 0630 at the latest after a 200 mile drive.

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G-CVIX
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by G-CVIX »

Where did you come from? People leave Kempsford at 6am so I mean 6am sounds late.

Suprastar
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Suprastar »

Ideally I would have left earlier (as I normally do), but that was out of my hands.

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purplevulcan9
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by purplevulcan9 »

Just out of curiosity, at what time did you hit the queues?

It'll be my first RIAT tomorrow: setting off from Birmingham at 6am, with a normal everyday ETA of 7:30 (of course, that doesn't account for queues).
-Would that be OK, normally?
-How has everyone else fared in terms of getting in?
-Is there any advice, based on what people have been saying about today, in regards to the traffic that we should take note of?

Best wishes,
Sam

-Edit: I just came across this: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/16353733.air-tattoo-boss-apologises-for-problems-promises-that-tomorrow-will-be-better/?ref=mr&lp=3
Fingers crossed then? :)

Airshowhammer

Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Airshowhammer »

Traffic as far as i can see on the shuttle bus home :down:

Suprastar
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Suprastar »

Yep! That was the problem. A massive line of school busses just jammed the whole queue. :sad:

Luke28
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Luke28 »

purplevulcan9 wrote:Just out of curiosity, at what time did you hit the queues?

It'll be my first RIAT tomorrow: setting off from Birmingham at 6am


Hi mate, you will undoubtly be stuck in queues if you are leaving Birmingham at 6am, I left Wolves at 6am in 2012 and didnt get into the base till well after the flying had started, ever since then we have left at 4am and that has proved much more beneficial as there is next to no traffic pretty much up until you hit the base. :up:
Last edited by Luke28 on Fri 13 Jul 2018, 5:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Airshowhammer

Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Airshowhammer »

Was speaking to the bus driver and he said in the 10 years doing this ‘he’s never seen anything like this before’.

Airshowhammer

Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Airshowhammer »

Still an hour later we have hardly moved. Shambles from top to bottom.

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G-CVIX
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by G-CVIX »

What's changed from previous years do you know?

vbombers2
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by vbombers2 »

Blue route towards Blunsdon is really slow.

farnboroughrob
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by farnboroughrob »

I had a lovely drive in strangely. Blue route from M4 just stopped at the normal traffic lights on the narrow part. Ok I had a disabled pass so came off and parked on the far western end at the Green car park at exactly 7:30
. I have known it much worse than that and was pleasantly surprised.

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play it cool
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by play it cool »

It's the luck of the draw I guess. I started off on the brown route, ended up in the green route, drove straight in. Left after the Typhoon at the end, straight out, and back in Cirencester in about 20 minutes. I did think that the traffic management was better than ever, perhaps I got lucky.

I stopped using the shuttle buses years ago after a particularly slow and uncomfortable drive. Much easier to drive straight there - assuming you're able to!

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BrawlerO
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by BrawlerO »

Suprastar wrote:Having set off at 6am this morning and been looking forward to another RIAT pilgrimage, I feel totally let down and frustrated with the traffic management.

We rolled up smoothly and in time right until the point we got to the end of runaway 9 where are the freeloaders gather (whom btw, had a much better experience than us). Then the traffic stopped. Complete ground to a halt at 10am. The traffic marshals eventually split the traffic into two columns and diverted us to the blue zone right through a small village. By now it was 4 hours driving at a snails pace and after missing the reds and F35 I just wanted to abandon the car and walk and find a loo as we were all bursting by now. When we finally arrived at the Blue zone, a guy in army uniform asked for a ticket then told us to enter the next entrance. Once there a police officer said we had missed the entrance and now had to join the loop back at the red car park. Absolute shambles. Sorry to say after 8hours in the car we turned off at the nearest exit and returned home.
Sorry RIAT. Big fail from us this year.


Sorry you had such a rubbish day, that really sucks.
Traffic management seemed really poor today, hopefully they will learn from this and amend for the next two days...

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keithjs
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by keithjs »

Oh dear that doesn't sound the norm? :dunno: We left Wycombe at 5.30am. 56 miles to the show and we were waiting at the red security at 5 to 7.
Certainly seems the luck of the draw this year. So sorry to hear your story tho :sad:
Getting out we left at 4.30 and with a quick detour to Brize were home at 6 and that included all the Friday commute traffic around Oxford.
I can only assume they tried something different which obviously didn't work... :dunno:
...Rad shutters auto.

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Gonzo230
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Gonzo230 »

Purple route for us also very slow at 0715 this morning, I think mainly down to the double decker buses being routed through Purple which has single-track sections, and there was oncoming traffic.

Got to the Tower in time though! :cuppa:

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Mr Benn
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Mr Benn »

Suprastar - Im so sorry to hear about your journey. I dont understand why they didnt let you in the blue zone...what does it matter ?

Im sat here annoyed that the Flypast was cancelled, but at least my day was really good otherwise, so I count my blessings

Sam - I came from Worcestershire this morning. Travelled down the M5. The motorway was okay. The main traffic was just after Birdlip, where the you have to leave a dual carriageway. The traffic queued about 20 odd mins I guess, so nothing major. In total it took me about 1 hr 50.
What you may need to consider is how busy the M5 will be in the morning , the schools havent broke up yet have they ? so hopefully not too bad yet.
Coming back , I cam the ctswolds way thru Stow, as there was traffic issues showing on the M5.A gain took me about 1 hr 50, altho google maps took me thru some narrowish lanes at first !

casper165
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by casper165 »

Sorry to hear about your issues, as a local resident for over 20 yrs I think the big difference today is that they placed a full show on a normal work day for the local area. Most residents still had to get to work and/or drop children at school (some were closed, but not all). Rightly so they could not close all routes to just the regular one way systems in place over the weekend as we still require to go about our daily business. Yes many could take it as holiday but why should they for an event that just happens to be on their doorstep and may have no interest in aviation (the vast majority, although I work in it and love the show as much as the next person).
Hopefully this is the last 3 day event and we return to the 2 day format from next year, local tolerance will wear thin if it continues in this years format with more restrictions imposed with regards to road use etc, yes it does boost elements of the local community but is very disruptive to the rest, especially on week days. Let us see if tomorrow changes anything.

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speedbird2639
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by speedbird2639 »

Leaving at 6am is probably leaving it too late (unless you live in Lechlade!) - I aim to be on the base for just after 6am. Yes it means 90 mins of hanging around but better 90 mins of waiting and then being one of the first batch in than 4 hrs stuck in the car just outside the base and then giving up and going home.

I was late leaving today due to my own disorganisation and even so the red route as empty and drove straight onto the base at 7.30am. I've been slightly later in previous years (when 'her indoors' decided to come and wouldn't agree to an early enough start) and it is a bit of a shock how in the space of such a short time routes to the base can go from deserted to chocca.

Sorry your day was ruined but the MO should always be to be on the base as early as possible and then whatever queues develop are an irrelevance to you.

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tankbuster
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by tankbuster »

I had a very good experience, arrived Blue Car Park at 0650 and drove straight in. Had a nap in the car and walked onto the base at 0830 with no pedestrian queues either. Can't ask for better than that.
Trevor C
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borismorris
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by borismorris »

Camping near Cirencester. I Join the green route at Meysey Hampton. I left my tent at around 0620 this morning and hit the back of the queue just coming in to Marston Meysey. On the base before 0645.

I'd not come in any later than that myself. Prepare to queue if you are leaving Brum at 6am.

Tom105
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Tom105 »

Can I ask what blue route out was like left early today full day tomorrow and Sunday just wondering what the queues were like?
Thomas

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jingernut
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by jingernut »

Left Didcot at 6am and as always went through Lechlade and red route. Was on base at 7am and in queue by 7.15. I'm guessing the shambles happened in my wake then :whistle:

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Andover
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Re: Red route shambles - came home.

Post by Andover »

I left south Oxfordshire at about 6.45, coming through Letchlade - no queues, parked up at bang-on 8.00. Might be a bit busier tomorrow though.

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