The Dame says the major issue now is whether the Rotten Borough's insurance will cover accidents on Exhibitionist Rd. A good lawyer will claim that the road signage is quite illegal....over to you 'Boyo' Moylan...
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| Should ambulance be on permanent standby? |
Man hit by lorry in first crash on 'shared space' of Exhibition Road
Mark Blunden16 Feb 2012
A man suffered head injuries when he became the first to be knocked down in Exhibition Road since it was turned into a "shared space" for pedestrians and drivers.
The victim, 25, was in collision with a Scania lorry less than two weeks after the new layout was officially opened by Mayor Boris Johnson and senior Kensington and Chelsea councillors.The £29 million redesign of Exhibition Road - home to the Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum - allows drivers and pedestrians to mix on a high-grade Chinese granite surface.
The redesign levelled the road and pavement, with no yellow lines or road signs to mark the two surfaces, only textured paving to assist blind people.
Officials had hoped the new 20mph speed limit would cut accidents by 30 per cent.
Traders and residents now want the limit reduced to 5mph.
Decio Barroso, manager of The Kensington Crêperie, said: "The guy was crossing the road and a huge truck drove slowly and hit him. The guy was lying on the floor, shaking and screaming. The driver jumped out of the cab to help and a couple helped too."
The accident happened near the junction with Thurloe Place.
Police said the driver was not arrested and the crash is being investigated.
A rally is planned in Exhibition Road a week today by residents, blind campaigners and the Association of British Drivers, to urge the council to improve pedestrian safety.
Gordon Taylor, of the West London Residents' Association, said: "The royal borough appears more concerned with the appearance of Exhibition Road than the safety of pedestrians."
A council spokesman said: "The police have reported that a pedestrian was knocked over by a truck on Monday evening. They are not classifying the accident as a serious one. There are no plans at the moment to lower the 20mph limit but the council will continue to monitor how the new layout is being used."
How dare RBKC attempt to play down the seriousness of this accident? Any collision between a lorry and a pedestrian is a major concern. Everyone prays the young man makes a speedy and full recovery. If he does, it will be pure luck.
ReplyDeleteThis vanity project is doomed. RBKC must investigate the cost of returning Exhibitionist Road to a standard layout and standard materials. It will take years of course, so people are likely to die in the interim. The sooner discussions begin on setting aside more millions to throw at a disaster of RBKC'S own creation, the lower the body count will be.
I have started to think about Exhibition Rd like I did before Concorde was grounded. "Time to get in a flight before it is too late"
ReplyDeleteRecently I started taking dinner guests on a spin around Exhibition Rd. We shoot down in the Bentley after desert and before coffee. My friends think it is a hoot
The Standard is quite right to expose this scandalous waste of public money that is putting the lives of innocent people in danger
ReplyDeleteWell lets explain something that you would have thought the 'expert planners' would have thought of...or even known!
ReplyDelete"Low Speed" Is Not the Same for a Car and a Human Body
Because there may be little damage to a car/van/truck at impact speeds less than 20 m.p.h., such speeds might be considered "low speed" for motor vehicle collisions. However, such speeds cannot be considered "low speed" for the human body. The person not trained in human anatomy and the treatment of injuries may mistakenly assume that a "low speed " collision will cause little damage to the human body.
This confusion!... happens when it is incorrectly assumed that the human body tolerates accident forces the same as machines. Ligaments, muscles and organs are not metal and plastic.
Also, contributing to this idiotic way of thinking is that humans experiences less of a sensation of speed in an enclosed vehicle at 20 m.p.h. than one experiences on an open bicycle at 20 m.p.h. About 10 m.p.h. is fast for the human body. Joggers and runners have been clocked at speeds from 6.62 feet per second (4.5 m.p.h.) to 12.96 feet per second (8.9 m.p.h.)1. If a runner could run a 100-yard dash in nine seconds, the runner would have an average speed of 22.7 m.p.h.
Ultimately it shouldn't take a genius to work out that in the battle of human beings V Scania Trucks or Cars its the humans that loose.
Exhibition Rd is without question the finest roadway in the whole of Britain and will be enjoyed by millions of visitors in years to come
ReplyDeleteIt trumpets the "wow" factor of modern England. Well done Sir Merrick Cockell, Leader of Kensington and Chelsea. As usual you stuck to your guns. Which is what we expect of you
UP YOURS
ReplyDeleteI should think the guy who got knocked down would agree about the 'WOW' Factor! What a dolt you are.
Why don't you treat Sir Cockell and give him his correct title of Sir Pooter?
Up Yours,
ReplyDeleteIt is clearly horrendous to be in your shoes, no empathy for residents or vulnerable people, or even concern for a person knocked down on this Theme Park Road?
Instead you bleat like the sheep that you are the same rhetoric to your great bleeder.
The longer this saga goes on the further you and your fellow sheep will have to fall. The residents of this Borough cannot wait for the day that you are fleeced of the high wages and perks you get for doing nothing. We will relish your fall.
Cllr Palmer (aka Up Yours) has clearly earned the increase he is hoping for in his next SRA
ReplyDeleteWatch out for a Cabinet reshuffle.
We already have a Cabinet Member for "Civil Society" (Cllr "pretty boy" Mellen). What about the new position of Cabinet Member for "Special Spouting"