Thoughts from the motorway

As I was driving back from London two things caught my eye. One was that the road was worn in one particular section of the motorway. It wasn't bad but you could see a slight dip in the road wher the weight of vehicles was taking its toll. You often see this effect much more obviously on some drives where the foundation is not good enough. It made me think. Is it worth building roads that are slightly wider and have space, say with a cycle lane, that could mean that the next time that lanes are painted the lanes could be moved to stop the wear in those specific lanes. I am no civil engineer but it might be worth it, a bit like putting car mats down so they take the wear rather than the carpet in the car.

The other thing I noticed was a sign that said the lights would not be lit between midnight and 4am. The main objection to turning off street lights is not traffic safety but to put off thieves. Thieves don't usually break in with the help of motorway lights so there is an element of traffic management. Could more lights go out after midnight? I don't suppose it matters to the vast majority of people but if you are in the miniority then you should have a bigger say. I noticed that in London there was a lot of activity regardless of the hour, but many streets may be lit for nobody.

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