BRIGG TRAFFIC FLOWS UNDER SCRUTINY

Colour-co-ordinated North Lincolnshire Council traffic teams were out in Brigg today.
Those in the yellow jackets were at the Old Courts Road/Wesley Road/Barnard Avenue traffic lights.
Those in the orange jackets were at the Cary Lane/Ash Grove/Barnard Avenue traffic lights.
We conclude they had been assigned to look at traffic flows along the A18, where the  new "smart" controls are in place to adjust the light sequence according to the number of cars travelling in particular directions.
Meanwhile, however, the A1084 Bigby Road level crossing had been closed to vehicular traffic.
Before someone from the council gets in touch to complain, we aren't in a position to say  it was done by the local authority.  And it was too foggy, early on, for us to point the finger with certainty at Network Rail, either. As we drove down King's Avenue, we couldn't see much.
Thursday is clearly a very bad day for such a closure to take place, it being market day in Brigg when a higher-than-usual number of people travel into town by car.
The well-meaning black and yellow advisory signs put out  to warn drivers about the road closure had an unexpected negative result for motorists looking to leave Bigby Road (A1084) at The Monument and head off towards Barnard Avenue, towards Tesco and Lidl.
For to exit Bigby Road in this direction you first need to find a gap in the traffic approaching from your right on Wrawby Road. 
This generally means waiting for a vehicle coming along the A18 to the roundabout with the intention of heading straight ahead to Bigby Road.
Clearly, with  "Level Crossing Closed Ahead" signs in place this greatly reduced the number of vehicles taking this route, making it much more difficult for drivers exiting Bigby Road to find a gap in traffic so they could join the A18.
This all goes to highlight the very difficult job faced by the council's traffic management staff when it comes to keeping the traffic moving, with many thousands of vehicles a day passing through.
There's no doubt that it now takes longer to get from Wesley Road onto the A18 at peak times. But looking at the overall picture of traffic flows, Brigg Blog thinks it's much better than it was, now the  control system has been upgraded. This is especially so if, like us, you drive along the A18 Barnard Avenue early in the morning.