On 30 Jul 2013 at 2:24pm olithedrifter wrote:
Isnt this just going to really get peoples backs up? why does Southern need help advertising their expensive and sub-standard service with tax payers money??
Check it out here »
On 30 Jul 2013 at 8:59pm Belladonna wrote:
What annoys me is Baker has spoken out against street clutter and too much signage - and here he is initiating yet more street signage clutter. What an idiot.
On 30 Jul 2013 at 9:07pm The old mayor wrote:
That's what happens when they appoint a transport minister who rides a bike !
On 30 Jul 2013 at 11:10pm Bongo wrote:
I remember the good old days, when train travel was cheap.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 1:14am signoff wrote:
I understand that Mr Baker is also responsible for all the 'no parking on verge signs' littered all the way up the A27 around Falmer and elsewhere across the country. The man is an idiot, thinking that signs solve problems. Too many signs are confusing, and a blight. If he looks around Lewes he will notice literally dozens of illegible and defunct signs, and he should read up the research which demonstrates that the human brain cannot accommodate more than a certain number of signs at one time, rendering many signs unhelpful, or useless. Signs are for those obsessed with telling people what not to do, but fail to prevent the problems in the first place.
It says a lot about this MP that he thinks bragging about littering the area with even more signs is a good thing. when will he stop?
On 31 Jul 2013 at 1:44am Insomniac wrote:
I remember the good old days when rail travel was in the hands of a nationalised company, and our taxes were n't spent on subsidies and free advertising to ensure businesses make a tidy profit whilst refusing to do anything themselves to reduce fares.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 7:27am Driver wrote:
Apparently, the huge roundabout just north of Polegate is known locally as "Baker's folly".
On 31 Jul 2013 at 8:10am Pete wrote:
Well don't vote for him next time then, blinkin' 'eck how many times do I have to say it !!
On 31 Jul 2013 at 12:21pm ar10642 wrote:
I'm a bit confused why the A22/A27 roundabout would be called Baker's Folly as it was built before Norman Baker was transport minister, it's not in the Lewes District and it would be managed by the Highways Agency anyway as it's on the trunk road network.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 12:34pm ar10642 wrote:
Also, for people complaining about the cost, if you're commuting, the monthly season from Lewes to Eastbourne according to Southern's website is £99.50. According to Google the estimated fuel cost from Lewes to Eastbourne is £3.74 one way. £3.74 x 2 (for both ways) x 20 (average working days in a month, give or take) is £149 in fuel alone, not counting wear and tear. If you can get to either station without paying for parking, the train looks even better, unless you can park at work for free.
So, unless you're car sharing the train *could* be cheaper for journeys between Lewes and Eastbourne.
In the absence of a proper upgrade for the A27 between Lewes and Polegate, if (and I admit it's a big IF) the sign makes some people stop using the car for that specific journey, then perhaps road users could benefit from the reduced traffic.
The standard walk-up return fare is too expensive I'd agree though.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 2:00pm jrsussex wrote:
if I have the correct roundabout it is known as Coppall
On 31 Jul 2013 at 2:06pm ar10642 wrote:
Yes, it is. Well, Cophall anyway, named after an adjacent farm I think. But it is not in the Lewes District and it was built before NB was transport minister. Was Baker instrumental in campaigning for it or something?
On 31 Jul 2013 at 3:44pm Dingo wrote:
The only sign Norman Baker should be concerned with is the one that should be put on top of his fat stupid head, saying INCOMPETENT OPPORTUNIST..
On 31 Jul 2013 at 3:56pm jrsussex wrote:
I am told that the reason the roundabout is so large is that when the dual carriageway coming from Bexhill was built it was designed to go under the roundabout and head on towards Lewes but they ran out of money and had to stop there. It would appear to make sense as you can imagine slip roads coming onto and off that roundabout as they do on a motorway.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 4:31pm Unrepresented wrote:
Pete, we didn't. We voted for a candidate who said that a vote for anyone else would open the door for the Conservatives. If he had gone Independent after that shameful opportunist face turn, I might have had a grain of respect....but he didn't...so I don't.
Oh, and then there is his voting record, compared with earlier manifesto claims....
On 31 Jul 2013 at 5:11pm PLUMPTON LAD wrote:
All it looks like Norman Baker is doing is trying to encourage more people out of their cars, cut congestion and reliance on oil and onto a more environmentally friendly form of transport. What exactly is the problem with that? More power to his elbow I say.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 5:16pm kevsy wrote:
I must say i very much agree with unrepresented about Norman, let down, disillusioned, kicking myself for voting what i thought was tactical - but turned out to be a disaster. Still never again eh.... but also with Plumpton Lad, this doesn't seem like a bad thing to remind motorists about, nor a bad place to do it.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 5:36pm Dingo wrote:
We have the most expensive train fares in Europe.What is Norman weasel words Baker going to do about that?Sod all thast`s what! I`ll be t a nice little directorship will be waiting for him with one of the rail operators when we haul the buffoon out of office at the next election.
We don`t have democracy anymore in Britain the whole political establishment with a few notable exceptions are in the pockets of vested interests.
Isn`t it obvioss by now?
THE COUNTRY IS TOTALLY CORRUPT.
This lamentable state of affairs will continue until the private sector is put back in it`s box.
But who of the major political partis will bite the hand that feeds them?
WAKE UP THE FRIENDS GAME IS NEARLY OVER AND WE ARE LOSING BADLY.
On 31 Jul 2013 at 7:32pm Driver wrote:
The Cophall roundabout was actually built with a dual carriageway from there towards Lewes in mind. But Mr. Baker in his Green/anti-car hat campaigned against that; and now we have the misery of the single A27.
Just like the misery of the A259 through Bexhill and St.Leonards. Until we can actually reduce the number of vehicle journeys, we need these new roads.
On 1 Aug 2013 at 7:40am ar10642 wrote:
Was a dualled Lewes-Polegate A27 ever seriously on the cards though? The bit of the bypass they didn't build only went to some point before Wilmington. Whilst he might have campaigned against the road, it sounds like the project running out of cash was the real problem.
Also, as a Lib Dem MP, why are people surprised about his pro public transport stance? The last Lib Dem manifesto I looked at was full of green stuff.
On 1 Aug 2013 at 8:53pm Dingo wrote:
Liberals green !Don`t make me laugh.Norman Baker is in favour of fracking.
On 3 Aug 2013 at 1:25pm Bingo wrote:
Norman might be pro-public transport, but that does not make him effective at making positive contributions to the transport situation as it actually is, here in Lewes. We have a parking mess, and a bus mess which just get increasingly worse every year. I am not aware of him achieving a single improvement to the Lewes CPZ. It has been left to the plebs.
On 3 Aug 2013 at 3:07pm underling wrote:
Does Norman even pay to use public transport? I thought MPs had free travel passes.
On 3 Aug 2013 at 4:50pm jrsussex wrote:
Driver - Your comment has rung a bell in my head, I recall that at the time of the route and the A27 Beddingham level crossing being discussed I was told that Mr Baker had a property on the planned route and that he refused to sell to the developers and that was what was behind the campaign against the project. If it is true he did of course eventually sell when the "price was right". Does anone know anything about that?
On 3 Aug 2013 at 9:30pm Bongo wrote:
Mr Baker used to live in a semi right next to the old level crossing.