Constant roadworks and expensive parking: What Nottingham drivers think about the city's traffic

Nottingham drivers have expressed their mixed feelings regarding the city's traffic, as roadworks have been causing constant queues across the city. Probably Nottingham's biggest traffic concern in recent weeks, the works at the new T-junction at Maid Marian Way and Upper Parliament Street have cause a lot of difficulty for motorists, especially at rush hour.

However, congestion is not the only problem drivers have reported to be facing, as "expensive" parking charges and "too many" one-way roads have also been cited as reasons for behind-the-wheel frustration. Nayyar Tabasam, 40, is a taxi driver and went as far as to say that Nottingham is the worst city he's ever driven in.

He said: "There are too many roadworks at the moment and too many one-way roads in the city centre. I take fewer trips as a result because it takes longer to get to places.

"Nottingham in my opinion is the worst city for traffic. I'm a taxi driver, I've driven in a lot of big cities but nowhere is as bad as Nottingham. There's too many restrictions that lead to all the congestion."

Nayyar also expressed his opinion about the new Maid Marian Way junction. He said: "The traffic at the Maid Marian Way junction is worse than it was when they had a roundabout now but the roadworks are still in place.

"In my opinion, once the works are finished, the junction will be better than the roundabout. The traffic there now is causing a lot of long queues on Upper Parliament Street though."

Fellow taxi driver, Waheed Husain, 55, added: "One of my biggest concerns about traffic in Nottingham is the bridge over the railway tracks on London Road. There's too much traffic there.

"Queen's Road along the railway station is also too busy and so are Huntingdon Street and Middleton Boulevard. Parliament Street is also very busy because sometime you get cars stopping and because it's just one lane each way, they take up the whole space. Sometimes all the traffic leads to fewer trips."

Regular drivers have also voiced their frustration. Nicki Campbell, 61, currently lives in West Bridgford caring for her 85-year-old mother.

She said that the high parking fees in the city centre put her off driving and determine her to get a bus instead as she finds it is a cheaper alternative. She said: "The charge of parking really puts me off driving into the city.

"It's really expensive to park. I always used to use the car park on Stoney Street but if I want to go somewhere close to the Theatre Royal, for example, it's a hell of a trek. I used to live in Mapperley and the Park & Ride at Forest Rec is fantastic, it's so much value for money and it's very easy to get in and out.

"West Bridgford is also easy to get to by bus. If you're smart enough to check when the football and the cricket are on you can just about avoid the traffic."

Regarding traffic in the city, Nicki added: "That mess they made at the top of Maid Marian Way - why was it needed? It was working perfectly fine, it was one of the easiest places to go through. Now it's just a mess. It cost a lot of money as well, it's very irritating.

"There's always roadworks at the Ring Road. There seems to be another section that needs works as soon as they're finished on the previous section. The Ring Road works really well but as soon as roadworks start, it's a nightmare."

Father Oliver Crane, 32, explained that he would also choose public transport to go to work if he didn't have to drop his children to school in the morning. He said: "If the circumstances were different, I think I wouldn't bother driving because it just takes too long, especially at rush hour.

"It's smooth sometimes but that's quite rare from what I've noticed. The roadworks at Maid Marian Way have made everything even worse because all the roads surrounding that area are congested because of it so I just avoid it as much as possible at the moment. I hope things will get better once the roadworks are over."

Student Amy Sharpe, 20, said she is considering leaving her car back home after Christmas as the traffic puts her off driving into the city centre. She said: "I brought my car with me for university because I live quite far away from campus.

"The traffic and expensive parking just makes driving into the city centre not worth it. Taking the bus would take longer but it would be cheaper."

In October, Nottingham City Transport criticised the works at Maid Marian Way, saying traffic in the area is now worse than it was before. The statement read: "Since the change to the road traffic layout that has taken place this week, traffic flow in the city has much worsened, and bus punctuality has been significantly affected.

"The changes made to the junction layout this week have disproportionately affected bus users. This is very disappointing as Nottingham boasts some of the highest bus use in the country."

Nottingham City Council, the authority carrying out the works at Maid Marian Way, then apologised in a statement. A spokesperson said: "We’re at a difficult point of this ambitious Future High Streets government-funded project, with our teams working to balance buses, drivers, pedestrians and construction work on a very busy junction.

"The current situation at the junction is temporary while works are in progress and does not reflect the final situation. Despite months of planning with our partners including the bus operators, we are seeing delays and for this we apologise and ask people to use different routes where possible."