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News and Comment July 2012

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9 July - Bexley introduces “People friendly, better streets” (That's what they say)

Bexleyheath Broadway

I'm afraid my plan to be at the Danson Festival came to nothing, most of the last weekend has been spent in bed with flu or some such bug. Probably I should still be there. However in an attempt to see if my brain is still functioning I have been looking at some of the detail associated with the plan to redesign the Broadway area of Bexleyheath. At the council meeting a couple of weeks ago when councillor Peter Craske failed to turn up to give his presentation the scheme looked attractive but the fact that Andrew Bashford looks to be in charge does not augur well. He was the man who failed to answer most of my questions about Abbey Road, Belvedere which caused me to start this website. The final straw was his claim that what he had done was in accordance with a Transport Research Laboratory report. When I got hold of a copy and walked along the road with their senior safety consultant I was told in no uncertain terms it had not.

A major feature of the new scheme is that it encourages ‘shared space’ and to that end a 20 m.p.h. zone will be introduced “on parts of Broadway, Albion Road and Arnsberg Way”. We will have to see if pedestrians feel safer with such an arrangement and hope there is no rude awakening by speeding emergency vehicles. The police station is in Arnsberg Way and both fire and ambulance stations are not far outside the zone. Pedestrian crossings are to be almost done away with.

The red As on the image above indicate where existing Pelican Crossings are to be removed, while crossing B, adjacent to ADSA, will be retained but given a raised platform and the bend realigned to make it more acute. The two red Cs indicate where traffic lights with pedestrian crossing phases are to be replaced by mini-roundabouts. D is to be a “flat topped road hump”.

Obviously you can’t ruin nice new stone paving and carriageway by painting double yellow lines all over it so the parts of Albion Road, Broadway and Arnsberg Way enclosed by the yellow Xs are to become a Restricted Parking Zone. No yellow lines, just a general ban with a few bays for the disabled and some for loading/unloading only.

You have until 25th July to comment on these proposals; I shall not be bothering. When I eventually managed to get hold of a list of all the comments made on Abbey Road back in 2009, I discovered that councillor Peter Craske had dismissed every single one. And now he seems to have dismissed himself.

Construction is scheduled to take place between 10th September and 9th November 2012 and from 14th January 2013 to July 2013.

 

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