14 February (Part 2) - Possibly better but not good enough
Earlier this week Bexley Conservatives‘ Twitter team (X) put out a message
(see below left) claiming that Bexley’s roads are in a better state that Greenwich’s;
which may be true, but not exactly difficult. I have given up driving to North London via Blackwall
in the rush hour since the dual carriageway from the Woolwich Ferry to Charlton was singled for long term road works.
And it saves Labour’s Tunnel Tax. So I have not driven in that borough (Knee Hill excepted) this year.
My Reform UK contacts have pointed out that Bexley Council is very good at
claiming that everything is hunkydory because thay are not as bad as some other
boroughs, and if you monitor such things you will find their criticism is justified.
The lower section of Knee Hill does however provide another contrast between the
two borough’s attitude to road repairs. The junction with Abbey Road became near impassable in 2024 and
Bexley Council did their bit (Photo 2) in the July of that year. Greenwich is
still sitting on its hands doing nothing. They did a little half-hearted
patching not so long ago and as you may see (Photo 4) they thought it was acceptable to cover a manhole.
Bromley is no better. On my near daily ‘commute’ I pass one of those tiny roundabouts, a white painted dome shaped
thing about four feet across which is absolutely impossible for a bus to avoid running over.
It may be coincidence but since the SL3 went electric four or five months ago
it has collapsed entirely. It simply isn’t there any more. Instead we have a
hole which if it was in a back garden would make a nice little fish pond.
I have only seen it in the dark but when my wheel unavoidably had to drop slowly into it I
would guess it must be four inches deep. Been like it for several weeks and Bromley Council has done nothing about it.
In
Bexley there are plenty of potholes but the Counci’s real expertise lies in road design.
Crazy road design. Last Thursday evening I was being driven up New Road in a
large tow truck (don’t ask) and passed the dangerous by design section
where the carriageway is only four feet wide and we came face to face with
a 301 bus hurtling around the blind bend. The wide angle photograph is
deceptive, the bend is much closer than it looks. The bus passengers must have got a nasty jolt.
At the top of the hill on Woolwich Road, westbound traffic is unable to see the
signpost or one of the traffic lights because of an overhanging tree. You can
imagine how much worse it is when it is in leaf. There is a filter on the left
hand traffic light so being able to see the right hand one is not a satisfactory alternative.
The tree will be privately owned but the responsibility for safety lies with the
Council. They were asked to do something about it last year but the request was ignored.
For how long has the Thames Innovation Centre been gone? Ten years?