14 October - Whitewash supplies run short in Bexley
Around
six months ago the roundabout at the foot of Knee Hill was closed over several
nights while it was resurfaced. Whether it needed doing or the contractor needed
a cash boost I haven’t a clue but it seems to me the job was never finished.
Doesn’t Bexley council have anyone to inspect works before they hand over the dosh?
As well as resurfacing the roundabout the lower section of the hill got the
treatment too. Presumably this involved the Socialist State of Greenwich because
whilst the roundabout is Bexley’s the borough boundary runs up the middle of the
hill. That middle white line has never been restored.
As
London’s premier camp site which plays host to countless foreign motor
caravans is only a few yards from Knee Hill one would have thought that a white
line to remind their drivers which side of the road to keep on would be a wise precaution.
Knee Hill used to be white lined as may be seen on the original man hole cover, but not any more.
As anyone familiar with the hill will know, it is narrow and guess what, it has
a ‘knee’ half way up which must be negotiated with care, especially at night when
the headlights of ascending vehicles are inclined to blind descending drivers.
It could do with some lighting. And guess what again, if you look carefully the
hill does have street lights. More on the Greenwich side than Bexley’s it is
true, but they don’t get switched on any more. Maybe that predates the resurfacing, but why?
Is Bexley council still squabbling with Greenwich even though
the allegedly maladministering Peter Craske has gone?
I suspect Bexley council has a vested interest in making Knee Hill as dangerous
as possible. They used it as the excuse to bash Ken Livingstone over his
proposed Thames bridge. Most traffic could have been guided towards the dual
carriageways (A2016) built for that very purpose and which now lie largely empty. A width restriction
could have been placed at each end of Knee Hill if the A2016 proved unattractive, but
councillor leader Teresa O’Neill wanted to protect herself from the local NIMBYs. Guess whose ward is at the top of the hill.