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News and Comment October 2013

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1 October (Part 3) - A question answered

Welling CornerAt the weekend I asked if anyone knew what advantages had accrued from four months of still unfinished work in the centre of Welling. I felt there was sure to be an expert out there who could throw some light on why pedestrians had been put at what would appear to be additional risk of impact by road vehicles.

I have been told the theory is that railings can act as a cheese grater when a lorry gets too close to a cyclist - and it looks better without them. Why don't I just post the complete message for simplicity?


I've been reading your site for a while and really enjoy it. You do a lot of good work.

The criticism of removing railings and clutter I don't agree with however. They are ugly, costly to maintain when damaged, dangerous to cyclists who have been squashed against them by traffic, and I don't like the philosophy they embraced - that being that people are too stupid to cross a road so must be herded like sheep.

They aren’t present throughout most European cities and removing them along with the ridiculous amount of clutter and signs can improve the appearance of areas no end. Having said that, if Bexley do their usual job of taking ages to do it and spending lots of money then that must change. It isn't hard to send some guys down on a Sunday or the weekend and cut the railings down in a couple of hours. Keep up the good work.


Welling CornerI still can’t see why the pedestrian access points have to be offset on each side of the road. When I crossed there last Saturday morning there was no traffic coming from any direction so I walked straight across - and promptly stumbled down the unexpected kerb.

My earliest photos (see left) of the Welling works date from May and they were well underway then, so it seems that chopping down the railings has taken at least five months. I’m sure Bexley will tell us that it hasn’t cost anything because Boris is paying.

 

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