Roads and Parking, Bollards!
As a resident of Thatcham Ave I would like to know when the potholes are going to be repaired. As we know we have to wait for the top surface to be added. It is a nightmare to drive through it’s now impossible to miss the holes, causing damage to tracking on our cars.
As for the sign for Thatcham Avenue at the roundabout. it is constantly blocked by a red car parked on the roundabout. Why do they not use their garage or parking space allocated to there property? If emergency vehicles have have to come in at night it will be almost impossible for them and again, they will not be able to see the road sign and a sat nav does not work here. Why are people so inconsiderate?
The sooner the double yellow lines go down the better.
Also, can anyone please answer my following question: Why are the bus bollards not working again?
I use my car every day either to go shopping or to visit friends, always using the bypass and never going under the bridge where the bollards are situated. On Thursday I thought I would spend an hour checking how many cars are flouting the £1500.00 fine. To my amazement 30 cars sped by me oblivious of all the signs saying “Buses Only” and a thought occurred to me:
30x£1500.00 = £45000.00 in extra revenue!
Just think what all that money could be used for!
This post was submitted by teddybear..
June 28th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Hi teddybear,
I believe the answer to your first question lies in this thread.
Sadly it seems it may be a while before Thatcham is done, although we’re still waiting on Kinloss, which is in much worse condition and is in an area which has been inhabited for longer than Thatcham Avenue!
As for the parking problem, I too find some people’s idea of “safe parking” frustrating (to say the least), as do others (see here and here).
On the question of double-yellow lines - my understanding is that the Village is still under the control of the developers in that respect (see this statement from QUVL Ltd).
Regarding the Bus Bollards, I don’t know why they’ve been deactivated.
This subject was raised at the RA meeting on Friday and many voiced the opinion that the underpass should be open to all traffic (in particular whilst the Village is being developed and things like Post Boxes and shops are such a long way away via the main entrance).
I have some sympathy with that opinion because it seems silly to me that one needs to travel around 4 miles by car in order to post a letter (whereas the underpass cuts the journey down to around 1 mile), but I must say that I rather like the fact that the Village has only one main road entrance because it greatly enhances the security in the area.
Perhaps Tony will post a reply, (I know he’s already made enquiries about this).
For myself, I have resisted the temptation to use that route so far (a £1,500 fine is not something I even want to think about - lol)!
June 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I agree with both Teddybear and Clive on this one……. living in Headley Court it seems silly that I have to drive in excess of 4 miles to do my shopping.
BUT more importantly, a recent article in the free Quedgeley magazine made me chuckle about the underpass bollard, saying that buses, taxis and “Emergency Services” all can activate the automatic bollard thus gaining access! Working for the Emergency Services I can confirm NO such system is in place nor will it ever be in place so food for thought when an ambulance needs to drive those extra 4 miles to gain access to the 700+ houses on Kingsway
Unfortunately I was unable to make the RA meeting due to work but it’s interesting that so many people showed concern.
June 29th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Having spoken to a No.14 bus driver recently, it turns out that the reason the bollard is not working is becasue of an electrical fault.
As for the cars parked on Thatcham Avenue roundabout - something needs to be done NOW!!! Not only is it dangerous for Emergency vehicles but its also unsafe for those wishing to drive down Thatcham Avenue. Its getting beyond the joke, someone needs to take responsibility sooner rather than later.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Hi km,
Thanks for your help with the "bollard mystery"
As for the other matter, I have to admit that I do have some considerable sympathy with people who have "general parking problems". Although I have my own parking it is clearly an issue for visitors and for many residents and it’s not really a solution to say "shouldn’t buy a house with only one space if you have two cars" because anywhere else in the UK you can reasonably expect to be able to park at least one car near to your home. In addition, nobody knew which roads would be restricted until they were! That such a large part of Thatcham Ave’ is restricted is not - in my opinion - entirely necessary, there are many sections which could allow parking without any obvious danger or too much inconvenience. But I do - of course - fully agree that those who repeeatedly park in (obviously) dangerous spots should be penalised.
Right now the responsibility for enforcing the parking restrictions lies with the developers (QUVL), who said that "Vehicles who persistently parked in these yellow line areas would be clamped."… Perhaps they are loath to exacerbate the problems which (to my mind) have been created by the lack of reasonable parking-planning in the area!
Once the developers “hand over” to the Council, things will undoubtedly change (although - in my experience - if you’re waiting for Police or Traffic Wardens to appear and enforce parking restrictions, you’re going to be sorely disappointed)!
June 30th, 2008 at 3:14 am
There is a simple solution to this. They are called garages… And most houses come with a fully functioning one as standard.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:33 am
Regarding the Bus Bollard, I too was at the RA meeting and a grand total of three people voiced the opinion that the underpass should be open to all traffic! Others including myself were of the opinion it would become a rat run and surely the safty of villagers young and not so young is more important than being able to use the car to post a letter or shop!
July 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
Hi Gillian,
Thanks for joining us.
3 was it? About 8% then
In my experience that’s probably not representative of the Village in general, but - like I said - I too prefer the restricted access.
If Lifeboat’s right though, it would seem sensible to allow emergency vehicles to use it. I’m not sure how often they would be coming in that direction but if it’s "life or death" it seems strange not to allow them access!
July 5th, 2008 at 12:43 am
In response to Big _dave’s comment…
"There is a simple solution to this. They are called garages… And most houses come with a fully functioning one as standard."
I agree with you on this dave. If only the people in our community realised that garages were for cars and not storing clutter! I am the only person in a row of 5 garages who uses mine for that. Unfortunately if I don’t park my second car outside the house someone else will park theirs there. This could be a van that blocks all our light or someone who parks their car there and goes on holiday for 2 weeks!
All I ask is that people who live on the estate be considerate when parking and then visitors shouldn’t have a problem… But this is never going to happen; some people are just so inconsiderate it’s untrue!
July 5th, 2008 at 12:46 am
I forgot to add about the bollard:
I agree to it being used for public transport only. Ok I understand it’s a 4 mile round trip and can be annoying to go to Tescos and such like, but walking it is far healthier than driving and you are also being environmentally friendly by leaving the car at home; and its quicker to walk than drive most days!
July 5th, 2008 at 3:52 am
Thanks Daisily, someone who agree’s with me on the garages.
Ssshhh: I sometimes park on the road too, just to stop other cars being sat outside my house, or blocking my drive. "but dont tell on me ok"…
July 5th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
If you dont tell on me I won’t tell on you
July 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I don’t know what all the fuss is regarding the bus bollard.
Why doesn’t everyone do as I saw a young driver do yesterday and that is to mount the pavement and drive through regardless. I would like to add that he successfully managed to do this without hitting me or my two year daughter!
I do hope he gets a fine!
July 8th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
lol - that’s more than a little cheeky…
I hope you reported him!
July 15th, 2008 at 6:06 am
A) The roads have yet to be adopted by the Council, and although they are a public highway, the development have no power to apply a ‘fine’ for using the underpass. I’m happy though as it makes my journey through there a little easier as many people are scared of the £1500 threat (which is actually illegal). In addition to this the ‘yellow lines’ that have been painted are not only non-compliant, but unenforceable in contract law. Should you get a ticket, just bin it. The company will probably get your address from DVLA (illegally) and try to make you pay a "fine" (illegal) but they have no way of enforcing it. Once the Council adopts the roads, they will have to go to the expense of having all of the ‘yellow lines’ removed and replaced by ones that comply with legislation.
Yet more expenditure on our council tax!
B) When working the sensors used for the bollard are weight activated, so that public transport can use it, as can LGV’s, coaches, diggers and fire engines. Police cars and ambulances are not heavy enough to activate the sensors so the statement is both true and false!v The emergency Fire service can proceed through with an appliance, but police and ambulances would not be able to.
Sorry if my views offend some people, but I try to be as honest as possible