10 May (Part 1) - Accidents by design and waiting to happen
If
you are still driving around Bexleyheath get ready for more chaos. How long have
the road works been going on for now? Off and on, mainly on, for more than four years.
The traffic order that first said that Albion Road would be closed was
issued in 2012 and Albion Road is no better now.
From next week the chaos will be extended to Gravel Hill. The traffic lights at the
eastern end of Albion Road and those outside the Council’s £42 million edifice
are to be ripped out and replaced by roundabouts. The details are in
yet another Press Release.
Even Bexley Council admits that the work will have “a significant impact on
journey times”. With luck Mr. Bashford’s roundabout design will allow a bus to go around it
(unlike the one in Wickham Lane) and be better than
Ruxley Corner which had similar problems.
Doesn’t he know that there is software available which can check for all that sort of thing? Probably not.
Ruxley Corner was so badly designed that it was featured
on a national website.
l am inclined to think that roundabouts might work better than the lights but
how will they cope with pedestrians? Both are part of my walk to the Council Offices.
Whilst a pair of roundabouts may prove to be a good idea, narrowing roads rarely
is. A vehicle and traffic consultant to Governments worldwide - Austria has just
been added to the list - told me that narrow roads cause more accidents because
there is less space in which to recover from mistakes. To be honest I don’t
think you need to be an expert on anything to know that but apparently Andrew Bashford doesn’t.
I can’t believe how narrow Albion Road has been made. (Oh yes I can.)
All photos taken yesterday.