[David9694]

A new catch-all Tea Shop thread for those miscellaneous new stories that don’t quite fit with parking, crashing into buildings or trapped/prisoners in their homes. 

Topic

[the little onion]

Here is a cracker of a report

Here is a cracker of a report, with coroner’s comments, on the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8l952lgr8o 

 

The title is “Coroner calls for council action after fatal crash”. 

 

We start with the statement that

“A coroner has called for better street lighting and signage following a collision that killed two men in Bradford.

Arsalan Khalid Baig and Mohammed Azad Khan, both 24, died after Mr Khan crashed an Audi SQ5 into a wall on a sharp 90-degree bend in Dryden Street, in July 2022.”

 

So, the reader is now thinking that these two innocent law abiding citizens were killed as a result of some kind negligence from the council, in not having adequate lighting and signage on a dangerous road. How terrible, heads must roll, etc….

The next line reveals something else

“An inquest previously heard Mr Khan had been driving at about twice the road’s 30mph limit and had cannabis in his system.”

Ahaaaa – so we have to now conclude that although the driver was massively speeding whilst impaired through drugs, it is the council’s fault because they didn’t have enough signs or streetlights?

Absolute madness!

[quiff]

I’d say just 4 reverting is a

I’d say just 4 reverting is a good result; they haven’t just been steamrollered by public pressure. Of those, I know 3 well and agree that 30 is probably right.  

[David9694]

Even if the guy gets this a

Even if the guy gets this a lot, it’s still worth my being the 940th person to note that it’s Cllr De’Ath overseeing a whopping four roads in Cardiff going back to 30 mph 

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2025-03-07/the-roads-going-back-to-30mph-in-cardiff?

[David9694]

Anger over Cornwall Council

Anger over Cornwall Council decision to offload 19 busy car parks

Despite councillors disagreeing, the car parks, many of which are free all or part of the year, will end up in the hands of private enforcement companies using number plate cameras

A bit more background here to West Portholland and a reservoir of driver tears in the comments.  

Reform Party and solar panels  

comicstoreguy
These car park rogues will contribute nothing to Cornwall. Make them sign a Code of conduct which includes free parking for high street shoppers for two hours and erecting solar panels wherever possible. Vote REFORM on 1st May and get your county back

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/anger-over-cornwall-council-decision-10003986?int_source=nba

[Tom_77]

Someone has already suggested

Someone has already suggested that perhaps it’s time for him to give up driving.

[David9694]

Our car-dominated urban

Our car-dominated urban environment is repressive and hot – let’s see if we can desecrate the countryside 

If this is Burnsall Park then it’s a barrier controlled riverside field pay on exit – caption would be “well I haven’t got a tenner either”

[David9694]

Sounds like it’s working then

Sounds like it’s working then.

The Portswood Broadway bus gate in the Southern Daily Echo has gone quiet for a few days now, but its opponents have been trying hard to establish a narrative  – in a city where a driver does something out of the ordinary most days – that blames the bus gate for any such mishap occurring in the area.

[Rendel Harris]

Councillor Dolt wrote:

Councillor Dolt wrote:

They [the residents from him he has allegedly received “many emails”] believe a serious accident is only a matter of time.

It says in the BBC article that the roundabout has been open in its current configuration since September 2024 and a linked article states that there have been no incidents of any kind in the six months it’s been open, during which time presumably hundreds of thousands of vehicles have passed through the junction and tens of thousands of pedestrians have managed to cross safely. What’s the statute of limitation on “a matter of time”?

[mdavidford]

Episode #57: Apparently this

Episode #57: Apparently this is now a scandal to match the Post Office Horizon shenanigans.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn042065g0zo

[David9694]

First warm and sunny weekend

First warm and sunny weekend for the New Forest 

[David9694]

Another Conservative bemused

Another Conservative bemused at how but a Conservative policy is turning out

[David9694]

Here’s the change.org

Here’s the change.org petition. 

All roads lead to “let me park there for free”, of course, but drivers seem to be struggling with some contradictory points.  One is “well, no-one uses it/ its off the beaten track/ I’ve only ever seen three cars down there” vs “I want to go on on using it”. 

Another, and drivers are are doing their usual thing of excluding themselves from the story, the idea of “destruction” comes up a lot – yes, you read that right, the camera and ticket machine machine are worse than the cars, in the AONB, SSSI, etc. It  gets a bit vague after that – “bigger picture”, local democracy, access to the outdoors, and to beaches should be free. Magna Carta had not come up at the time I wrote this post. 

Stop plans to put an ANPR car park on the beach head at West Portholland

“Please understand this exploitative form of Tarif collection has already turned hundreds of people away from this much loved bit of Cornish coast line which is as much ours as yours. This is unfair and morally wrong.”

https://www.change.org/p/stop-plans-to-put-an-anpr-car-park-on-the-beach-head-at-west-portholland/c

It’s hard to pick out just one comment: 

“It seems so wrong that this beautiful unspoilt part of Cornwall would have a camara and parking meter installed for no other reason than greed. This small parking space has been there for so many year, used and enjoyed by the local community of Portholland and Portloe. I am so sad”

In terms of recap and next steps, the planning inspector has granted permission for the charging equipment to be installed and so with the holiday season fast approaching, is the next thing for it to be installed? 

[chrisonabike]

mdavidford wrote:

mdavidford wrote:

It’s just a bit odd that they’ve only just noticed, given that it’s the result of them having been left to slowly rot away for the last decade or so, during most of which time the council was controlled by *checks notes* ah – the Conservatives.

Rights and responsibilities, innit? The previous governments were focused on *checks notes again* returning people our sovereignty and freeing businesses from red tape – and freeing everyone from tax and interest payments *.

But the people chose not to use their restored power to fix their own roads themselves. Businesses freed from pettifogging bureaucracy didn’t fix them either.

So clearly nobody wants them maintained and it would be antidemocratic to waste tax money on that!

* TBF there were the small matters of the banking crisis at the start of national Conservative government and Covid. And no doubt many eg. Americans (and Liz Truss) would say that the UK is hamstrung by having far too much government anyway – if only it could all be swept away that would allow proper feedbacks between the market and people.

[mdavidford]

Or both. I mean they’re not

Or both. I mean they’re not wrong that the state of Oxfordshire’s roads makes them dangerous to cyclists. It’s just a bit odd that they’ve only just noticed, given that it’s the result of them having been left to slowly rot away for the last decade or so, during most of which time the council was controlled by *checks notes* ah – the Conservatives.

[David9694]

Oxfordshire: Potholes ‘out of

Oxfordshire: Potholes ‘out of control’ and risk to cyclists

Liam Walker, Conservative county councillor and shadow cabinet member for highways, said he was “impressed” that “thousands of people had managed to navigate the complex process of making a pothole claim”.

Mr Walker called for the county council to “focus on getting the basics right” as opposed to spending “£8 million speed limits to 20mph which could have fixed about 145,000 potholes, making them a lot safer”.

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23748581.oxfordshire-potholes-out-control-risk-cyclists/

 I’ll take the 20 mph limits, thanks

[Author]

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