27 November - Too narrow by far
A
new drain pipe has been laid under the kerb in Abbey Road leaving a road infill about
14" (35 centimetres) wide. The contractor rightly judged that the road was too
narrow with the small strip temporarily unavailable and so the traffic lights
had to remain until this afternoon when the underlying concrete had set. What
better illustration does one need that the road is too narrow when the loss of a
foot of width renders it impassable? No wonder it feels so dangerous to
stand on one of those refuges and have fast moving
traffic passing the end of your nose and that
motorists clip the kerb or even hit and
injure pedestrians.
Maybe it is time to remind ourselves who is responsible for this disgrace. It
was Andrew Bashford who headed the team responsible for the design and withheld
information about its likely consequences when
consulting a small minority
of affected residents. It was Conservative councillor Peter Craske who failed to
spot the flaws in the design and authorised the go-ahead, and it was Conservative
councillor John Davey who said
he saw no justification for it but
decided to stand idly by. Standing idly by is what he does it seems, because he
knew full well that motorists were being given parking tickets in the
most dubious of circumstances but once again
thought his loyalties lay with fellow councillors and council employees rather
than his electorate. To my mind that is a form of corruption. Remember how Craske
and Davey have let us all down when the next elections are due in six months time.