21 March (Part 1) - On yer bike!
Councillor Val Clark’s Transport Users’ Sub-Committee is usually interesting and a
good place to learn what is in store for Bexley on the trains, on the buses and
on the roads in general; sadly last night’s meeting was a bit of a let down and
I came perilously close to falling asleep.
TfL’s bus man failed to show up. The Chairman said that made two
consecutive absences so we lost the opportunity to question why bus routes that
used to be operated out of Bexleyheath garage now have to travel from Dartford and because of that
failed to provide a service when it snowed. Hugh
Neal’s blog carried
some
fascinating background information on that very subject last Sunday.
The railwaymen had however turned out in force with both Network Rail and
Southeastern represented. The latter gave a very detailed report on what went
wrong in Lewisham on 27th February. One train broke down and nine trains were
consequently halted and frozen to the ice covered
non-conducting third rail.
There was little sympathy for the passengers who forced open the doors and got
on to the track. There can be little doubt that their actions caused what might
have been an hour’s delay to be extended to more than three. Only Cabinet Member
Alex Sawyer appeared to recognise that being squashed shoulder to shoulder on a
train with no toilets and no announcements because the emergency batteries did
not last long enough may have something to do with the mass evacuation.
Southeastern will be paying £100 or more to delayed passengers. How can they possibly identify them?
Little of general interest was revealed during the two hour long meeting. The
cycling lobbyist did not appear to be very happy with
what is being done to
Harrow Manorway despite the cycle tracks, the bike shelter that is to be built
opposite the station and the cycling hub, whatever that might be, on the new
station’s northern flank in Felixstowe Road. He wanted restrictions on parking
in New Road to give cyclists a clear run up the hill.
Anyone would think that motorists have not had half their Abbey Wood parking spots taken
away already. I did not detect a great deal of enthusiasm among Council officers for his ideas.
Councillor Stefano Borella had noticed, like every Bexley motorist must have
done, the problems that Bexley Council has caused with its new roundabout right
outside the Civic Offices. I am on record as saying I thought a roundabout would
be an improvement over the previous traffic light controlled junction, but that
was before I realised that Bexley Council was not going to actually get rid of
the traffic lights; the roundabout is an addition and not a replacement.
The only difference is that the lights are now at the roundabout exit points and pedestrian controlled and
whenever they turn red the roundabout inevitably becomes gridlocked.
Andrew Bashford who is responsible for most of the crazy road systems
implemented in the name of progress said it was an improvement because the
pedestrian lights only hold up the traffic for 20 seconds or so whereas the old
lights did so for best part of a minute.
I think he forgot that the old lights only stopped traffic on two roads out of
four whereas the new ones can hold up all four at once. Pure genius. All it
needs now is the addition of a yellow box junction and their cunning plan will
be completed.