By Emma Heseltine Kensingon & Chelsea Chronicle
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| A Dangerous Road |
Campaigners fighting a new 'shared space' in South Kensington say it will be dangerous for pedestrians to try and cross the road.
The council has spent just over £22m refurbishing Exhibition Road, with no yellow lines to determine the edge of the road, and no set crossing points for those walking - instead turning it into a shared space for cars and pedestrians.
West London Residents Association (WARA), the Knightsbridge Association and Imperial College all claim that the new road layout is dangerous, particularly for those who are blind, disabled, and the elderly, who could struggle to safely cross the street.
Gordon Taylor, chairman of WARA, said: "With no continuous yellow lines marking out both sides of the road and with signs telling drivers to give way to pedestrians, the layout endangers lives as people try to go from one side of the road to the other.The council has spent just over £22m refurbishing Exhibition Road, with no yellow lines to determine the edge of the road, and no set crossing points for those walking - instead turning it into a shared space for cars and pedestrians.
West London Residents Association (WARA), the Knightsbridge Association and Imperial College all claim that the new road layout is dangerous, particularly for those who are blind, disabled, and the elderly, who could struggle to safely cross the street.
"Without proper road markings, vehicles can park anywhere including the pavements which are at the same level as the road. The exception is in the resident parking areas."
David Cowdrey, campaign manager for Guide Dogs for the Blind added: "The council knows that the blind, the elderly and other disabled groups require a controlled crossing to safely negotiate the road.
"It is shameful that one has not been installed, although provision has been made for one."
Millions spent on this folly whilst critical services cut back. Those whom the gods etc
ReplyDeleteShame shame shame on Cockell, moylan and his bunch, and all involved in this fiasco. How many already vulnerable people are going to get hurt before they do something?
ReplyDeleteThey cannot use the excuse that they hadn't been warned, because they had. And who will pay out the compensation....taxpayers.
Totty Brill who was' let go'was an interesting Moylan appointee. Her background was a sort of council event organiser with no professional qualification at all. Her appointment was seen as one huge but expensive joke(£150k a year). Not bad for someone who organised fireaters etc
ReplyDeleteWriting in the Standard last night Steven Norris said to the daft Westminster Leadership
ReplyDelete"I have one final word of advice for Barrow and his team. I had a Parliamentary majority of 20,000 but the local Council was not Conservative. They forgot the people they represented and made one arrogant decision too many. They were turfed out."
Cretinous Barrow and his parking ideas is no different from twerp Cockell and his Exhibition Road
I drove down Exhibition Road and it is a complex geometric pattern of contrasting coloured stones and Chinese marble. As soon as this is dug up for service maintenance (electricity, sewage, water, gas) it will be impossible to relay in the same pattern.
ReplyDeleteImpractical, dangerous and expensive. Why is the Council spending tax payer's money (£25 million) in this stupid way?
Dr Gordon Taylor has pointed out that the cost of the Exhibition Road folly is £1,200 per square foot, which is ten times more than the cost of comparable granite schemes for road surface
ReplyDeleteDr Gordon Taylor, eminent scientist and traffic engineer from Imperial College, S Kensington (itself a world class institution) has been dismissed as a "nutter" by Cllrs Cockell and Moylan
ReplyDeleteAnother monstrous vanity project by the equally monstrous "busted flush" Cllr Cockell.
ReplyDeleteIn the busiest part of London, traffic flow has been reduced by 65% so that pedestrians and cars can navigate shared space in Exhibition Road. Another £25 million blown from the K&C piggy bank which is effortlessly topped up by all the rich council tax payers in the Borough
What a plonker the Leader is. When will the pathetic Conservative councillors get rid of the man?
Tott Brill was doing what she was told to do - which she does magnificently
ReplyDeleteDerek Myers should examine his position and consider resigning.
ReplyDeleteThe Chief Executive of a Council surely has a duty to ensure that blatant misuse of public funds for vanity projects like Exhibition Road is not allowed to happen?
What is the point of democracy?
Up Yours
ReplyDeleteYou are such an imbecile. Only you could think Brill was any good.Us mid rank officers think she is just a joke. Only good for organising street festivals!!
In wet weather, Exhibition Road is like a skating ring. There seems to be no skid resistance
ReplyDeleteObviously another Conservative council that is out of control.
ReplyDeleteToo many councillors with too much money and not enough to do.
When will the Chairman of Kensington and Chelsea Conservatives, Cllr Buckmaster, flex his muscles and restore order to the Party?
ReplyDeleteIs this a joke 10.22?
ReplyDeleteChristopher Waller (@christhebull) said:
ReplyDeleteThe reason that Exhibition Road is not working as a shared space is because it has too much traffic for that solution to be effective. If there are more than 100 motor vehicles per hour, then the road will not be shared as much, motor vehicles will start to develop dominant flows at junctions, and pedestrians will wait for gaps in traffic before crossing the road. It will function as any other road of moderate traffic volume would if you got rid of the road markings and installed expensive granite paving that will get ruined whenever Thames Water need to do anything.
The turning restrictions at the junction with Cromwell Road were intended to reduce traffic volumes to 600 to 700 vehicles per hour, which is still too much.
I realise that vehicular *access* is required, so if traffic volumes are to be reduced drastically, the road would need to be blocked off at one end and made a "no through road", at least during certain times of day, with rising bollards or another type of traffic control that would allow cyclists and certain essential traffic through, but force other traffic to make a U-turn.
Well done Up Yours. You are absolutely right. The mark of a good K&C councillor or council officer is blind obedience. People of independent or original thought are not welcome.
ReplyDelete