Police have clamped down on drivers ignoring 'no entry' signs at Watford General Hospital - despite confusion over diversion routes.

Hertfordshire Constabulary says that over the past couple of weeks people had been ignoring the no entry signs on Thomas Sawyer Way, which ensure ambulances have quick and efficient access to the hospital by only allowing emergency vehicles and buses.

Community support officers had been issuing warnings to motorists flouting the rules, who the force says “may be slowing down a member of the public who is in need of urgent and lifesaving care”.

Today (March 14), officers were sent to start issuing traffic offence reports to people who still ignore the restrictions, which could lead to a fine or points on the driver’s licence.

“By contravening the no entry signs you are committing a moving road traffic offence,” Watford Police said on social media.

“If you are witnessed using the road by an officer, you will be issued with a traffic offence report. The diversion was in place to get around a sinkhole outside the main entrance.

Police added: “Watford General security staff have been advised not to divert anybody down the emergency route.”

A woman who visited over the last couple of days claimed yesterday she was told to head that way, but today the security guard “clearly said you have to go all the way around”.

Work is currently underway to fix the hospital sinkhole, with pictures taken yesterday (March 13) showing a digger and sand on site as the hole was being filled.

However, in the comments, numerous people claimed they had actually been diverted that way by hospital security to get to the multi-storey car park. Work on the hole and road renovations are expected to be completed by this spring after the problem first emerged last August.

Since it opened, diversions have been put in place for patients to access the car parks.

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/23385125.police-stop-drivers-flouting-watford-general-hospital-signs/

On 20/02/2024 13:15, Simon Mason wrote:

> Police have clamped down on drivers ignoring 'no entry' signs at Watford General Hospital - despite confusion over diversion routes.
>
> Hertfordshire Constabulary says that over the past couple of weeks people had been ignoring the no entry signs on Thomas Sawyer Way, which ensure ambulances have quick and efficient access to the hospital by only allowing emergency vehicles and buses.
>
> Community support officers had been issuing warnings to motorists flouting the rules, who the force says “may be slowing down a member of the public who is in need of urgent and lifesaving care”.
>
> Today (March 14), officers were sent to start issuing traffic offence reports to people who still ignore the restrictions, which could lead to a fine or points on the driver’s licence.

Were they using a time machine?

If they were, any driver could avoid the penalty by travelling backwards
in time by the same method and crossing the "No Entry" line before it
existed.

JN; 20/02/24

{And that reminds me - two days to go; unless you have access to the
same time-machine.]

TRT 15th March 2023 3:00 pm
User ID: 120163
You cannot go from Hagden Lane via Willow Lane onto Thomas Sawyer Way except emergency vehicles and buses. There is a no entry sign after the small roundabout there. Thomas Sawyer Way was designed purely as an access road to the hospital site plus retail and housing there. In order to protect as much of Oxhey Park North as possible, it was not designed as a through route. This is why it has only two lanes and has no pavements. The volume of traffic it was designed to carry over the park is deliberately reduced - this is the reason for the "no left turn" that I'm thinking you are referring to (from Wiggenhall Road onto Thomas Sawyer Way).

In the event that the road was to be carrying general traffic, it would need at least a wide central lane reserved for blue light traffic to use to get around the queues of traffic that would inevitably build up there. Light control would be needed at the Dalton Way junction as well. As it is people perform all manner of unorthodox turns there. You just have to look at Google Streetview dated Sept 2020 (the latest at time of writing) to see one illegal turn and two unorthodox turns. I've stood there on a traffic survey more than once - about 15% of all vehicle movements through that junction were unorthodox or illegal.

An argument could be made that such a high level of malpractice indicates a demand which requires addressing, however there were never the funds to do such work, the modelling for it suggests that it would cause problems elsewhere in the network, leading to further expense and disruption.
In short there are plenty of reasons that the banned turns are banned, and you can't use that bit of emergency vehicle road in either direction, which has been the case from day one.

On 20/02/2024 15:28, Simon Mason wrote:

> TRT 15th March 2023 3:00 pm
> User ID: 120163

> You cannot go from Hagden Lane via Willow Lane onto Thomas Sawyer Way except emergency vehicles and buses.

That is gibberish.

May Sun wrote it, obviously.

> There is a no entry sign after the small roundabout there.That won't deter an y fulkly-unquLIFIED CHAV-CYCLKISTS.

> Thomas Sawyer Way was designed purely as an access road to the hospital site plus retail and housing there. In order to protect as much of Oxhey Park North as possible, it was not designed as a through route. This is why it has only two lanes and has no pavements. The volume of traffic it was designed to carry over the park is deliberately reduced - this is the reason for the "no left turn" that I'm thinking you are referring to (from Wiggenhall Road onto Thomas Sawyer Way).
>
> In the event that the road was to be carrying general traffic, it would need at least a wide central lane reserved for blue light traffic to use to get around the queues of traffic that would inevitably build up there. Light control would be needed at the Dalton Way junction as well. As it is people perform all manner of unorthodox turns there. You just have to look at Google Streetview dated Sept 2020 (the latest at time of writing) to see one illegal turn and two unorthodox turns. I've stood there on a traffic survey more than once - about 15% of all vehicle movements through that junction were unorthodox or illegal.
>
> An argument could be made that such a high level of malpractice indicates a demand which requires addressing, however there were never the funds to do such work, the modelling for it suggests that it would cause problems elsewhere in the network, leading to further expense and disruption.
> In short there are plenty of reasons that the banned turns are banned, and you can't use that bit of emergency vehicle road in either direction, which has been the case from day one.

Chav-cyclists remonstrating with people they imagine to be breaking the law!

You couldn't make it up!

The volume of traffic will. You can see from the comments on here that it's a brilliant "short cut" (because no-one is using it!) but if it was a permitted route option, then very quickly it would be overloaded. You'd have to make the junction of Vicarage Road, Hagden Lane and Willow Lane into a roundabout, for one thing. Willow Lane isn't very wide and there's no alternative parking for the few houses there, so it can't cope with two way traffic flow at normal levels for Vicarage Road.

On 21/02/2024 03:38, Simon Mason wrote:

> The volume of traffic will. You can see from the comments on here that it's a brilliant "short cut" (because no-one is using it!) but if it was a permitted route option, then very quickly it would be overloaded. You'd have to make the junction of Vicarage Road, Hagden Lane and Willow Lane into a roundabout, for one thing. Willow Lane isn't very wide and there's no alternative parking for the few houses there, so it can't cope with two way traffic flow at normal levels for Vicarage Road.

It isn't the job of local taxpayers or the wider community to provide
the burghers of Willow Lane with free or subsidised garaging space for
their motor vehicles. The road belongs to everyone.

Mrs Trawfod 18th March 2023 5:33 pm
User ID: 993406
I work in the hospital .. and as part of my job also go to various sites in Hertfordshire. I have to take heavy equipment with me. When the sinkhole first appeared and on visit days I was advised by security I could use this road to get back on the main part of Tom Sawyer way (I load up the car by the maternity building) if I dont use this bit of road I have to either use the ring road or go via the arches during rush hour adding on 20 mins + to my journey. The expenses West Herts pay us (especially over the past year) do not cover costs so I do not want to be driving anymore than I should and only use this section of road when I visit other sites which is 1/2 dozen times a monthSecurity also send people down it!! The sink hole has been left un touched for months and we are bearing the brunt of this total farce of management.