Thursday 23 July 2009

Drivers are still going through the pedestrian zone


















So, just why is this person parking in the Town Square on a Wednesday afternoon, returning to his car, and driving off through the pedestrian zone? A black male accompanied by a white woman. Registration number L009 FHR. I find it hard to believe that this is anything other than someone dodging paying for parking, or someone so car dependent that they are determined to walk as little distance as possible from their parked car. It seems unlikely that this is an authorised user, as the easiest way out from where the car was parked is nearby Selborne Road, and the bollards here are unlocked and removed for those who are deemed to be on official business which requires vehicle access.

The reality is that drivers are still free to opt for free parking in the Town Square because this crap Council still hasn't blocked off access via the High Street (two of the bollards are missing by the library cycle stands) or - if you have the nerve - via the bus station, or (for larger vehicles with clearance underneath) Selborne Road, where one of the new bollards has already been hit and 80 per cent flattened.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, why not pass them on to the boss.

Incidentally, look at those children in the foreground (below), who are paying no attention at all to passing traffic. And I can't see a single pedestrian wearing the recommended high visibility yellow clothing. As any Crown Prosecution Service lawyer will tell you, pedestrians and cyclists are very hard for drivers to see at the best of times. The extent of the contributory negligence on display here is shocking.