A disturbing walk in well-linked Stoke

"Heritage Trail" read the sign outside Stoke-on-Trent railway station. It was a welcome one because the taxi, bringing three of us from the funeral of an old friend at Keele University, had got us to the station half an hour early. Rush hour in Stoke, it seemed, is of a different order than rush hour in London. I recalled the remark of Michael Beesley, the late great transport economist: people said traffic jams were a problem, but the real problem was lack of traffic jams. Was that Stoke's problem?