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[email protected] · September 26th 11, 05:01 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:27:54 +0100, Basil Jet
wrote:

Exhibition Road has had the pavements and kerbs removed to turn it
into a place where pedestrians and vehicles don't quite know who is
supposed to be where. Apparently that's a good thing. Anyway, blind
groups have complained, so the former pavement area is now going to
be covered in ... wait for it... corduroy so that the blind will
know when they are on the former pavement area and when they are in
the former road area. Since the presence of the corduroy will also
alert everyone else to the location of the former pavement area, I
can't help thinking that leaving the original road, pavement and
kerbs intact would have achieved similar results with zero cost or
disruption. No wonder the country's bankrupt.

This is just the largest and most ludicrous example of "highway
engineering fashion" that has been implemented in London. You only
have to experience the smaller scale version on High Street Kensington
and nearly be run over about 10 times in a 100 yards to know it is a
preposterous idea.

I'm also not entirely convinced with the new obsession of removing
fencing and street furniture either. In some places you do need to
some obstructions if only to protect people from their own stupidity
of stepping on the highway when vehicles are driving past. I'd love
to know how many millions of pounds have been spent on this in recent
years. It could then be compared with the millions spent under Ken to
install it all and all the extra traffic lights. Neither policy has
achieved the optimum position and I fear we will forever lurch back
and forth between two policy extremes.

This fashion is more Kensington and Chelsea than all of London but I'm all
in favour of getting rid of railings. They are usually a real danger to
cyclists. Kerbs are another matter though. Without them motorists drive all
over the pavements. We learnt that in Cambridge 20 years ago and ended up
with a load of bollards.

--
Colin Rosenstiel