26 April (Part 1) - It’s all change again on Broadway
How would you describe the changes made to Bexleyheath Broadway? I think it looks much more attractive than before but has it met the other design aims, and what were they anyway? This is what council leader Teresa O’Neill said about them in June last year…
This scheme has been designed using an innovative concept of ‘shared space’ which aims to create a better
balance of priorities between drivers and pedestrians. The most recognisable characteristic of shared space
is the absence of street clutter, such as conventional traffic signals, barriers, signs and road markings.
Whether clutter is reduced is hard to tell but certainly Bexley council can’t seem to make its
mind up on whether or not their plan is working. While they dither there have been accidents.
Last week an old man was
hospitalised by a bus
on the redesigned Friswell Place/Arnsberg Way junction and this week new street clutter has been installed.
At
the Trinity Place junction (Photos 1 to 3) and at the Mayplace Road free for all (Photos 4 to 6) the
little yellow signs imploring pedestrians to Listen have been replaced by
meaningless stainless steel fingers. The protection a hard to see post
offers against a large articulated vehicle must be close to zero.
The large expanse of kerbless paving outside the police station (Photo 5) is now guarded
by two barely visible posts but the one opposite, by the bus stops, may survive
a little longer, standing as it does just a few inches from the CCTV support column.
Councillor Peter Craske spent £4 million on buying road planning advice from
traffic consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff and apart from the two abusive emails that came from their
computers to mine, we seem to have got very little out of it. Maybe Peter or someone did.
According to the News Shopper there was another collision at this roundabout just 20 minutes before these photographs were taken.