Paul Terry ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Good point - of course it couldn't work at J11 (motorway:motorway
only), but any obvious reason they couldn't do something like that for
the A3 junction?

If you mean signs to the A3 Ripley services, the reason is likely to
be that you cannot easily get back to the M25 without a long
deviation.

So either redesign the access to Ripley services, so you *can* turn round
there, or take 'em in towards London, to the big supermarket just off the
first junction, the A245 at Painshill - only a mile or so in and nearer
than Ripley.

"Ian Jelf" wrote

[1] You're right to say that it was once called "Farthing Corner".

[2] I'm not sure when, though. Does anyone know?


The name Farthing Corner was in use when it was under construction about
1962.

Don't know how long the name lasted, but that is what I still think of it
as.

My ever first day at work (with PO Telephones) was there when it was just a
sea of mud!

The name is quite old, it appears on the 1870 OS map as a junction of paths
between Farthing Wood and Ryetop Wood.

Yes, I think what people are missing is that in effect these junctions
on the freeway have a dedicated truck-stop (very much equivalent to our
motorway services) built right next to it. All that differs from one to
the next is whether the fast food is Wendy, Burger King or Macdonalds.

Whereas the services *on* the freeway are more like a massive lay-by and
will have perhaps toilets, picnic area and a few vending machines.

In the UK there just isn't the space, or indeed the demand, to build the
truck-stop facilities. Or as some have hinted, the locals positively
don't want them.

Yes-and-no. Although there are some exits from Interstates that do indeed
fit the "truck stop" model, in many cases the signage will simply be to the
nearest local branch of Cracker Barrel or Arby's for food, or to the nearest
Exxon or Texaco for gasoline.

As to locals not wanting such things - well, there will be a distinctly
different view, I suspect, from the type of businesses who could increase
their volumes this way, and other elements of the community (trying hard to
avoid the emotive term "NIMBYs").

Ian Jelf wrote:
In message , Annabel Smyth
writes
On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 at 17:36:35, Dave Liney
wrote:

As the price of fuel
on motorway service announcement signs is no longer displayed,
presumably because of the effort required, it isn't something I'd
rely on happening.

They seem to manage in France.

Talking of which, why can't we have what they have in France and
Germany, where only every other service area has petrol and food,
but
the intermediate ones have a place to park, with picnic tables and
loos and possibly/probably telephones and a local information
board?
"Les aires de repos", or "rest areas", a wonderful idea and one
which I, too, can't understand why we've never repeated here.

In fact, in France at least, the proportion of these to "full blown"
service areas is much greater, maybe four or five to one. Indeed,
large scale service areas are actually few and far between in
France; I know as I frequently used to have to find the blasted
places to keep groups of 49 people on British coaches happy!

I used to find that planning a stop for a meal on a French autoroute was
difficult until I discovered that Michelin's French Motorway Atlas (map
914) lists all service areas and their facilities.

We did, in fact, once have a single, solitary "aire de repos" in
Britain. It was called the Brent Knoll Picnic area and was on the
M5 in Somerset, in the shadow of the hill of the same name. It's
now been converted to a "full blown" service area called "Sedgemoor".

Wasn't there one on the M6 in the Lake District too?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

In message , Bob Martin
writes
Although there are some exits from Interstates that do indeed
fit the "truck stop" model, in many cases the signage will simply be to the
nearest local branch of Cracker Barrel or Arby's for food, or to the nearest
Exxon or Texaco for gasoline.

Yes, and it depends a lot on whether the freeway is through a city, or
in the country. But as most freeways seem to be 95% in the countryside,
the truckstop model is very prevalent.

As to locals not wanting such things - well, there will be a distinctly
different view, I suspect, from the type of businesses who could increase
their volumes this way, and other elements of the community (trying hard to
avoid the emotive term "NIMBYs").

Yes, what use is a bit of green belt next to a motorway, anyway? It's
already been spoilt...
--
Roland Perry

In article , Roland Perry
writes
There have been several such
service areas for many years, e.g. Aust on M4 (now Severn View on M48),
Gordano on M5, Exeter on M5, in addition to Scratchwood.
Stansted on M11.

But that's a good example of the original poster's "new design";
remember that it's only a few years old, whereas the motorway has been
there 20 years.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org
Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work:
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

"Robin Cox" typed


"Richard J." wrote in message
...
This is not a change in design policy. There have been several such
service areas for many years, e.g. Aust on M4 (now Severn View on M48),
Gordano on M5, Exeter on M5, in addition to Scratchwood.

Isn't Scratchwood now "London Gateway"?

Yes

And if so, why did they change the name?

Don't know but commercial rebadging is a common, if confusing, practice...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

In message , Richard J.
writes
Wasn't there one on the M6 in the Lake District too?
--
Not seen it in the last 25 years. Where was it, and what was it
called?
--
Clive

In message , Clive D. W. Feather
writes
Stansted on M11.

But that's a good example of the original poster's "new design";
remember that it's only a few years old, whereas the motorway has been
there 20 years.

Depends what you mean by a "few years". Yes, it's younger than the
motorway itself, but built in the mid-90's I guess.

I suppose if we are being really picky, then it's like the one north of
Oxford (and all those American truck stops) and not a *motorway*
services at all; because it's off the normal non-motorway roundabout and
just as accessible to non-motorway traffic.

(There's yet another example about five miles west of Ashford).

--
Roland Perry

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 at 06:47:09, Robin Cox wrote:


There is a picnic area at Heston (M4) Eastbound.

There is also a current planning application to build 120 units of
affordable housing on it - which makes me think that not many people
picnic there.

Yes, but there are picnic areas at a good many other service areas -
that's not special. The point is, why not have just picnic/rest areas?
Why do we need, every single time, a petrol station/restaurant/expensive
shop? Obviously we do need those, but *every* rest area?
--
Annabel Smyth
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/index.html
Website updated 6 June 2004