23 October - How long before we have a fatality in Abbey Road?
“This
road was not identified as one of the priority roads, based upon its
collision history assessment, during our annual reviews of the borough.” So said
the incompetent Andrew Bashford while trying to argue his case for the redesign
of Abbey Road after a Transport Research Laboratory consultant predicted that the
lack of recovery space for drivers was a recipe for accidents. It’s a pity
Mr. Bashford is so arrogant and deaf to advice, because this evening there was another serious accident in Abbey Road.
I have already commented on the fact that anyone standing on a central pedestrian
refuge is, thanks to the imposition of a cycle track on the pavement, now within
a couple of feet of speeding traffic whereas the distance used to be about five
feet greater. Anyone with a dog on a lead is in considerable danger and there is
simply not enough room for anyone pushing a child’s pram. The slightest
miscalculation by a passing driver will result in terrible injuries or worse.
That is exactly what happened at 6 p.m. today. A man waiting for a gap in
the traffic (on the refuge shown here) was struck by a car going in the opposite
direction that ran out of road while negotiating the Andrew Bashford approved
restricted carriageway. Mr. Bashford’s lack of expertise, his belief that he
knows better than any Transport Research Laboratory expert, not to mention a
total lack of commonsense has resulted in someone’s leg being severely injured.
I emailed my Transport Research Laboratory contact about this latest unnecessary
collision but he was busy in Brussels delivering a lecture to an E.U.
sub-committee so his reply was necessarily brief. “It
kind of proves the theory, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”