11 March (Part 1) - It will not end well
@tonyofsidcup ran a campaign all last year aimed at getting
a pedestrian
crossing installed outside a Sidcup School and was pretty much ignored until he took
the preliminary steps towards organising a petition. His reward was
a speech in Council
by Leader Teresa O’Neill condemning him for wasting
Council Officers’ time. Wasting lives may not matter to Bexley Council but time
does. At one time the Head of Highways said that Zebra crossings cause more
accidents than they prevent. “They
cause a collision problem.” Presumably he equates broken limbs with scratched bumpers.
However out of the blue, Bexley Council suddenly
announced four new Zebra crossings, but not @tony’s. You might think they
would now want to bask in the glory and not go out of their way to bring the
negatives to the fore. If so you would be thinking of a different Council with a sensible Leader.
A couple of days after the announcement
@tony
asked Cabinet Member Richard Diment why the crossings were subject to another public
consultation and immediately received a fulsome reply. However one question
remained unanswered. Why was the most dangerous crossing site not
going to get a crossing? One might almost assume that this is another case of
Bexley Council favoring its Tory heartlands over Thamesmead.
A helpful Councillor
suggested that it is because Yarnton Way is liable to
flooding and the Head of Highways, Andrew Bashford confirmed it in writing. “I
can advise that the Yarnton Way crossing was deferred pending further
investigation and resolution to some drainage issues at the location and which
would be problematic for a zebra crossing to be introduced whilst the issues remain.”
@tony took the official route and asked “Can I please have report(s) summarising the Council’s 2023 survey of pedestrian crossing locations” and the
reply said “I must advise that we will not be providing you with the information
you have requested. This is because we consider your request is vexatious.”
Presumably Bexley Council knows that they cannot lawfully give an individual the
vexatious tag and can only take such action if someone keeps asking the same
question. Is asking for a copy of the report that might reveal why Thamesmead
has once again been neglected really the same as asking about the safety record
of a site in Sidcup a year ago?
On 1st March @tony decided that Richard Diment might once again be more
helpful as he was a week earlier. Eleven days later @tony has not had so much as an acknowledgment.
@tony’s opinion and mine have more than once differed when it comes to Richard
Diment. When I opined that he played ‘a straight bat’ I was quickly provided
with an alternative view. It is beginning to look as if @tony is going to win
the Richard argument although I would strenuously maintain that while Baroness Teresa
O’Neill remains Leader of Bexley Council even the most honest of Councillors will feel constrained.
There must be a reason for Bexley long being the most dishonest Council in
London and I think we know what the continuing common factor has been.
The missing Yarnton Way crossing is close to my home, there is only one Zebra
site closer, so I tried my luck with an FOI too.