1 December - Blackfen Road. Under siege by Bexley’s gestapo team
When
I went along to Blackfen a week ago the gestapo car I had
hoped to see drove off just as I arrived, unlucky because I had been told it was
there most of the time so I went back for another look and sure enough there it
was doing exactly what the local traders are so annoyed about.
There are only seven parking spaces in the road and no car park now that the
council have sold it to a private buyer, so it’s 40 pence for a quick half hour
shop. The premises on the north side of the road are blessed with their own
forecourts which should make things easier but instead they provide a
trap. The tyre fitters is the primary example of how it works.
Cars have to enter in a forwards direction, to do otherwise would fill the work
place full of fumes; and then there is the wheel tracking rig to be considered.
There is room for one car to be waiting off road for a fitting bay to become
free but when the first car is ready to leave the one behind must shuffle
backwards into the busy road adjacent to a junction. So it’s not the easiest of
manoeuvres and depending on circumstances it can take a little while to safely
accomplish. To minimise the danger it is tempting to not retreat fully into the
road and that is when councillor Craske’s vindictive and nasty nature comes into
play. His cameras are trained on that access to SETyres almost permanently. Stop
on it even for a moment and you get a fine in the post. Police advice is that it
cannot be parking, it is just a legitimate driving manoeuvre, but when did
Craske ever bother himself with what the law might say?
In the eleven months of 2010 close to 1,400 SETyre customers are known to have
received a parking ticket for momentarily stopping on the pavement crossover in
preference to holding up the traffic passing along the road. SETyres have begun
legal proceedings against Bexley council and who can blame them, they have a
business to run and people to keep from the dole queue. Does Craske and the rest
of the talentless crew in charge at the Civic Centre care? No they don’t, their
expenses pot is their only priority.
Blackfen Road has been given a permanent page under the Roads index with a different selection of photographs and text. SETyres’ head office have given permission for their premises to be featured here.