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Local ‘nimbyism’ dismissed as
Local ‘nimbyism’ dismissed as consensus is new scheme will ‘increase footfall’
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/news-opinion/local-nimbyism-dismissed-consensus-new-9980133
(Not much to see there – just a collection of opinions)
Opposition to controversial
Opposition to controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood ‘will filter away’ say council bosses
Dump your swasticarWhilst I agree with the sentiment, there’s a lot of people who bought swasticars before it become known that Musk is a Nazi. It seems unfair that they’re now being targetted and they can barely sell their car without making a big loss.
Tories blast ‘baffling’ plan
Tories blast ‘baffling’ plan to restrict cars on Park Street:
I expect it is baffling if you’re some kind of Tory carbrain that doesn’t care about people’s health and well-being.
Yesterday (but after my previous comments, otherwise I’d have mentioned it then) I read that EBLN is the Cable’s most active topic. They’ve had “almost 1,000” responses to their request for engagement. Clearly there’s a lot of feeling about it, despite it directly affecting only a small area of the city. What we don’t know is how much of that engagement might be whipped up by outside actors of the “Fair Fuel” type.I wouldn’t discount outside influences, but people do seem to get very passionate when driving is criticised. People often see it as infringing their freedom, whilst caring very little about the people subjected to car pollution. Just look at the drivers who decided to take a shortcut over the graves when Beaufort Rd was blocked as a car route.
My attitude is that driving restrictions are inevitable in high population areas (i.e. cities) as cars are just the worst use of road space and inevitably lead to congestion if everyone tries to drive. Unfortunately, a lot of the arguments against LTNs are disingenuous and just seek to perpetuate problems rather than attempting to improve matters.
What I find most puzzling is that the residents along Avonvale Rd don’t seem to want less traffic and pollution in return for slight inconvenience (the disabled lady is claiming that she is majorly inconvenienced by the proposed scheme). I also find it difficult to believe that the shops along there are reliant on motor traffic for their trade.
The Anti-EBLN group have now approached ACORN for support. It’s way out of ACORN’s usual field (housing, but they have also acted on eg public toilets) but the argument is that the council are not talking to the residents, so they want help in an area ACORN are proven good at (getting the council to listen). Also, Reform (and the non-parliamentary further right) are trying to use this issue to gain a foothold. It’s not certain that ACORN will adopt the issue; it’s causing rifts. And of course there’s a large overlap in membership between ACORN and Greens, including some councillors (I’m not sure about the councillors for the relevant ward though).I’m surprised that Reform would get any traction – aren’t they mainly racist (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c10l5qd8p60o), which wouldn’t fit well with East Bristol’s varied demographics.
Ultimately, the EBLN is a 6-month trial, so I think it needs to be less politically motivated and instead needs to focus on the aims – reduce traffic, congestion and pollution whilst promoting active travel. It may not be a good fit for Avonvale Rd, but currently that’s not even in the trial, so we can’t evaluate it and have to rely on who’s shouting loudest.
4.6% increase in rail fares today. Fuel duty freeze maintained.I wonder why we seem to have so many issues with congestion and angry drivers in this country? If only there were examples of other countries that had found ways to promote active travel and drastically reduce car use and pollution?
chrisonabike wrote:
That’s not a bad idea … only in the UK I think it’s far more important that we concentrate on public transport being far more extensive and reliable. Public transport isn’t extensive because “lack of demand” because people who can, often drive. It’s not reliable in part because buses get stuck in traffic, because people drive. Most people who drive could afford the bus. But the buses don’t go where they want, when they want or simply can’t be depended on. (Admittedly with our decision to keep subsidising private motoring it may be that in terms of just fuel cost vs. bus fare it’s cheaper to drive!)The way I think of it is that by having free/low-cost public transport (I’d also include trains by the way), we’d be encouraging teens/young adults to be using it far more often and get into the habit of not always driving. However, that’s not going to be popular with people that make money from selling cars etc.
slc wrote:
Various financial incentives (bus tickets, second hand bike vouchers, bus gate exemptions) to be offered to residents. £100 bus tickets for everyone, the other items for people in low incomes. https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/residents-liveable-neighbourhood-trial-area-receive-350-free-bus-tickets/ I wonder if this was the result of negotiations with the (impressively organized and committed) local opposition. Or just the council hoping to erode the opposition enough to install.I like the idea, but I very rarely get the bus – maybe two or three times a year. I’ll probably give my £100 bus tickets to a friend if they’re easy to transfer.
However, this does play into my long-held idea that public transport should be subsidised so that journeys are free (or very close to free) for the public – that’s one way to reduce congestion.
Also a good lubricantI’d buy this!
Can’t persuade it to turn, despite editing and re-saving. Must be some odd rotation flag in the filePhone cameras store the rotation of the device into the EXIF flags of photos and IIRC road.cc honours that flag. If you load the photo into a suitable editing tool, you can usually strip the EXIF flags and then rotate the picture how you like.
Why is “a seizure caused by a doctor changing anti-seizure medication” treated any differently from “a seizure”?Presumably because it’s a one-off event and subsequent seizures aren’t considered likely if they haven’t happened within 6 months.
Dawlish driver suffered seizure before smashing into wallHe was only 20 minutes away from the motorway
A motorist who smashed into a wall after suffering a seizure at the wheel has vowed never to drive again. Mark Garwood crashed into the boundary of a residential property in Dawlish.
A check on the police national computer revealed his licence had previously been revoked due to his epilepsy and he should not have been driving. Garwood told a court he thought he was safe and legal to drive but the crash had made him think again.
The judge accepted it was not a deliberate decision to breach the rules
and fined him £160.Deputy district judge Peter Donnison said: “I find you are genuinely remorseful and this arose more out of oversight than a deliberate decision to breach the rules. You recognise the error you made on that night.”
The judge did not disqualify Garwood and added three penalty points. His licence is still revoked.
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/dawlish-driver-suffered-seizure-before-9938537
How can that possibly not be a deliberate decision?
Judges are just making a mockery of the laws around driving if they will accept people driving whilst being disqualified and being a clear danger to other people.
(By the way, your link is a bit mangled – should be https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/dawlish-driver-suffered-seizure-before-9938537)
Not Park St, but fairly near, in a region of the city that was essentially given over to heavy traffic infrastructure.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p542743wo
“It is within easy reach of both the centre of Bristol and the green of Ashton Court by foot or by bike.”
There has been a reasonable route throgh the current mess for peds and bikes, but it has been closed now for months to suit the developers of an adjacent plot. The route (sustrans signs and all) is permitted rather than a public right of way. I want to see if the new plans make the situation worse.
I often come into Bristol along the dual carriageway there as it’s quicker than trying to find my way on the bike paths, but then I’m used to dealing with heavy traffic.
That should be a lovely area if it’s properly developed and they sort out the road mess.
That’s a positive identification! If drivers get that wrong they shouldn’t be charged, though.I re-fuse to believe that not charging drivers is the current attitude
and fined him £160.