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News and Comment November 2009

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25 November - The folly continues

Refuge concrete removed No need for lightsI went past this spot, the junction of Abbey Road and Carrill Way at 2 p.m. yesterday and when I returned late in the evening the traffic lights were back. The traffic had been held up again during yesterday’s evening rush hour, all night and again this morning. All that had been done was the new concrete of the central refuge had been dug out presumably heralding the installation of yet more unnecessary and life threatening ironmongery. As these photographs taken at 7.30 a.m show there was absolutely no problem with the road surface to justify the lights, it was exactly as normal.

After extra ironmongery was installed further east a week ago I had a word with my Transport Research Laboratory contact to get a quick reaction to placing metal poles in the middle of the road. Basically he was horrified that insult was being added to injury. Bexley’s road planning clown, Andrew Bashford, had claimed that the changes in Abbey Road were supported by T.R.L. research but comparison of it and the Bexley implementation showed that to be another falsehood, and now having ignored the warning that the scheme would result in the accidents we have since seen, the accident-safe plastic bollards are being augmented with steel poles to maximise injury in the event of collision. I wonder if councillor Craske, the buffoon who authorised the scheme with his signature was consulted again about throwing good money after bad by adding yet more hazards for drivers to negotiate?

At 9.00 a.m. fresh concrete was poured into the pedestrian refuge and half an hour later I emailed the council to ask why the road had been traffic controlled since yesterday without any clear need for it. At 10 the concrete was smoothed over by a man working on the traffic island for ten minutes which may have justified lights because they slowed the traffic and by 10.30 the lights were parked on the pavement and the road was clear again. The odd thing is that there are three more islands towards Belvedere which are being similarly dug out and then concreted back in without the ‘benefit’ of traffic lights and outside the Soviet style barracks a trench is being dug right across the road reducing it to less than half width and one-way traffic but no traffic control is deemed necessary. Bexley council not only waste money on countless unnecessary road contracts, they haven’t the skills to manage them properly.

By late afternoon more pedestrian refuges had been dug out, including another one at the site pictured.

Refuge concrete removed No need for lights Refuge concrete removed No need for lights

 

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