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News and Comment November 2009

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18 November - More attempts to cover up their mistakes

Extra keep left signs Bexley council never learns from its mistakes does it? They make so many that you would have thought a penny might have dropped by now, but they press on with their incompetence as if their jobs depend on it, and in a way they do. If they got things right for a change they might run out of things to waste our money on.

Once again today’s spotlight falls on Abbey Road which thanks to council stupidity and the toothless councillor Davey failing to act on his belief that its redesign couldn’t be justified, is fast developing into an accident black spot. The only problem with Abbey Road was that it was straight and some lawless people used it as a racetrack and a few would even overtake on the wrong side of Keep Left bollards. But it was not only straight, it was wide, which allowed reasonable separation between vehicles and pavement, so it didn’t register on the council’s radar for being dangerous. In the words of my Transport Research Laboratory commentator, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but that doesn’t make work for idle hands or satisfy the politically correct agenda of people like Andrew Bashford who deceived residents with a restricted and less than truthful public consultation and was determined to justify his existence whatever the risk to life and limb.

Needless to say his mad-cap scheme has not in any obvious way slowed the traffic, but it has predictably caused more impatience which in turn has led to reckless overtaking and accidents. Today the latest Elastoplast® is being applied to patch up the expensive mess Bexley council has created. The plastic Keep Left bollards are being augmented by metal keep left signs mounted on steel poles. Traditional Keep Left bollards are lightweight plastic shells illuminated from ground mounted lamps so that in the event of an accident they cause minimal damage and can be inexpensively replaced. But a proven safety measure is now being abandoned in a desperate attempt to catch the attention of those frustrated by Bexley’s latest road design disaster. What makes Bexley council think that a metal sign will be more effective than an illuminated plastic one? Ah, my mistake; thinking is not what they do is it? Next time there is an accident like this we will not only have a pedestrian’s leg badly injured but his skull will be cracked too as a steel pole crashes into his head.

Extra keep left signs Extra keep left signs Extra keep left signs Extra keep left signs

Additional notes
Photo 1. A large hole has been dug in the new asphalt of the left hand pavement to get access to electricity which is conveyed via a new trench being dug across the carriageway to the existing central reservation. The old plastic Keep Left signs were (should have been?) already illuminated so I have no idea why a new power supply had to be taken from the other side of the carriageway. The new metal keep left sign may be seen above the traffic light and another in the distance, just to the left of the bus front door. There is another immediately behind the camera. Simple logic suggests that if a motorist is so uncaring about road safety that he is prepared to ignore illuminated plastic Keep Left signs then a metal one will do nothing to mend his ways. It will however undoubtedly cause additional injury and damage when the metal pole is demolished. Wouldn’t it be nice if a Bexley council official sat back and thought for a moment about the problems they create rather than always assuming that ploughing down the same old furrow, only more so, is the right thing to do.

Photo 2. An alternative view of the extra keep left signs installed on every pedestrian central refuge. I no longer use them because to be caught on one brings pedestrians within a foot or two of speeding traffic. It is safer to cross the whole road in one go. At least that way you have to look both ways whereas on the refuge one might look only in the direction painted on the road and find yourself under the wheels of someone so frustrated by the poor road design that he ignores the basic rule of the road. Keep Left!

Photo 3. The view after the contractors left showing the new path dug up and concreted in again.

Photo 4. The new concrete around the pole on the island, still wet.

Photo 5. The next island is given the same treatment, as are several more.

 

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