6 March - Jam today and jam tomorrow
Yesterday I took a bus ride from the stop nearest to
Places Cabinet Member Richard Diment’s house to the 301 stop nearest mine. I
broke the journey in Bexleyheath but only to post a letter in the box next to
the clocktower. The Royal Mail in an act of stupidity that one has come to expect from them has
removed Abbey Wood’s letter box; however I was back on a
bus within two minutes.
All was well until we came to a halt soon after the Melanie Close stop in Long
Lane and crept forward only when motorists created a gap by doing a U-turn. It
was much the same until we reached the top of Knee Hill and diverted on to New Road. Overall the journey
took an hour and 17 minutes; an unpleasant experience not helped by one of the
children on board letting off a stink bomb.
It was a quick turnaround at home for a car journey to North London and the
possible reason for the hold up became apparent. The radio said the Liz line was
in big trouble again which meant the cars picking up passengers from Abbey Wood
station were waiting longer than usual in Gayton Road. This in turn jammed Wilton Road which meant
that there was a stream of traffic from Knee Hill which couldn’t get into Wilton
Road and jammed many motorists including me and
a Superloop in Abbey Road because some of that queue
was trying to turn into Wilton Road. And couldn’t.
Cars were unable to easily escape from Florence Road because those stuck in Abbey Road
prevented it. I let one in and he rewarded me by indicating right back
towards the station. Obviously there was no free space anywhere near the
station and he was going round and round. 21 minutes after leaving home I was passing Yarnton Way.
It is a great pity that there are no Councillors living close to Abbey Wood
station to see what goes on there and perhaps think of a solution, although I admit I cannot.
• If Wilton Road was restricted to buses only the traders would complain that shoppers would be driven away.
• If Florence Road was stopped off at its Southern end the residents of Fendyke
Road would be subjected to the diverted traffic but it might distribute it over a wider area
making dispersal easier.
• If the exit from Florence Road was made Left Turn Only (buses excepted) the
pressure on Wilton and Gayton Roads would be relieved somewhat because of the easier escape route on offer.
None of it is ideal. Maybe residents would have benefited if Bexley Council had engaged its
collective brain in the ten years it didn’t notice Crossrail being built.
Note: Great minds etc.
A
similar post has appeared on Facebook.
Photographed 6th March with the Elizabeth line running well. When it doesn’t no one goes anywhere.
The comment “Computer is running OK but I get no picture.” led me to believe that the faulty PC may have suffered an issue in the graphics area. I was wrong; the BIOS was screwed up preventing Windows from booting. Remove and replace the battery from the motherboard and away it went. Next time I see it I will replace the battery.