27 August (Part 1) - Another Yellow Peril
Everyone
who drives to the north of the borough will be familiar with the traffic lights
at the top of Knee Hill. In the photograph Brampton Road is to the south and starts where the bus is.
Large vehicles coming from the East (left) cannot turn left if someone pulls up
to and stops at the Brampton Road traffic lights and for that reason the white line is set well back.
The sensible solution would be to ease the bend
on the South Eastern corner by cutting into the grass verge,
there is plenty of room, but this is Bexley where common sense is rarely seen
inside the borough boundary.
Yesterday I drove to Blackfen, more of which anon. There are gas works under the
flyover in Abbey Road which are best avoided so I ascended New Road and came in
from the left at the aforesaid junction. The turning left into Brampton Road was difficult
as a large van had plonked itself right up against the lights.
Fortunately the B11 bus behind me was caught by a red light or there would be more serious fun and games.
At around 07:45 this morning I drove the same route en-route to the Hyundai
dealer for a service and MOT. A large black Mercedes was where it shouldn’t be
and there was no way the 301 in front of me could turn left.
At 13:15 I was a passenger taking the same route to pick up my own car.
Another bus blockage! That’s three in a row and perhaps a bit unusual but the
problem is not uncommon. This time there were two yellow jacketed people there videoing
events. I lowered the window and said “it was the same this morning” and
was informed that Bexley Council was surveying in anticipation of yet another yellow money box.
It is hard to disagree that something should be done but that something should
be easing the bend but there is no money in that and motorists must be fleeced at
every opportunity. The costs of a CCTV monitored yellow box will far exceed a
bit of tarmac but as already stated, common sense is not to be found in the
Civic Offices, least of all in the Highways Manager’s head.
It will be a tricky one to negotiate because you get red light jumpers on
Woolwich Road who can cause an unexpected stop and those ascending Knee Hill who
sometimes decide to turn right without warning are another source of chaos.
But if there are coffers to be filled what’s a bit of specially engineered road
chaos to a Council as incompetent as Bexley’s? Simple low cost solutions are
best avoided.