On 21 Jul 2015 at 11:59am Unsurprised wrote:
Article on BBC website reveals that Police are simply not enforcing 20MPH zones, in Brighton and 5 towns including Lewes. They claim that they are 'self enforcing' which anyone living in Lewes knows is not true. So why did our Councillors spend all this money on a lot of ugly signage and road painting which has failed to improve pedestrian safety, when the same money spent on even just one or two crossings would have A) forced traffic to slow down as it moved through the town. B) enabled pedestrians to cross the road safely. Of course the speed of traffic has other effects, but since the 20mph limit is having no effect at all, at least a crossing or two would have provided some gains.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 1:24pm tobnac wrote:
If just a handful of people keep to 20 then the limit is indeed self enforcing. I do, and I know others on the forum do too.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 2:04pm White van man wrote:
Well if today's performance by the council mini bus in lewes high street is anything to go by 20 mph would be bliss , this very silly lady bus driver blocks the exit road despite it having keep clear on the road in big white letters, she could have moved but chose not to so it was grid lock , I was told by a rude man in the councils transport dept that they have all pass advanced driving test , but he lies about other things too , a bit off topic but it's not very often you can achieve high speed in the high street during the day
On 21 Jul 2015 at 2:20pm Taff wrote:
the whole 20mph thing is nothing but a Concillors smug 'look what I/we did' other than that 20pmh was barely achievable through the centre of town. Further out it may be easier to get up to 20mph but there really are not that many of them and road users go through these faster if they have been held up by a 20mph traffic marshall on their journey! Offham Road comes to mind, 20 pass the Elly above 30 up to Landport entrance and beyond. Councillors should not be encouraged, vote for something else like remove diesel engined vehicles off the road.
On a more costructive point its not just traffic issues the councillors have failed on is it?
On 21 Jul 2015 at 2:38pm A Person wrote:
I try to keep to it, although it's always exciting coming down Little East St at 20.
The news report featuring this said that since the 20 mph limit had been introduced in Brighton, the average speed of traffic has fallen considerably and is now around 23-24mph. So actually it can claim some success.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 2:39pm Mavis wrote:
The council pleads poverty and makes swingeing cuts, but when I really comes down to it, they've plenty to spend on what they want to. Town Hall currently draped in scaffolding, if a household was skint, it would be unaffordable to spend on non essentials. Councillors join the list of MP's, Bankers, Estate Agents, and others not to be trusted.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 2:55pm Merl8n Milner wrote:
At least Mavis try and slag off the correct Council please. Others please do some research first on the funding for the 20mph. This has been discussed before on this forum.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 3:05pm Merlin Milner wrote:
Just to be clear Lewes Town Council contributed to the first phase and the second phase came from government funding. However conflating all councils into one council is not helpful.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 3:08pm Mavis wrote:
Smoke and Mirrors Mr Milner !! We don't care which blasted council it is, we don't need so many! It's all too much expensive bureaucracy. Especially since we are to be ruled by Brussels soon. They have announced they want an EU Governent now.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 4:43pm Merlin Milner wrote:
There is no smoke and mirrors only in your imagination.
I suggest you take part, come to meetings and do a bit of research.
I agree there are too many Councils. However ill informed ranting will not change things. I suggest you take part and try and improve things.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 6:04pm B.Sheene wrote:
sorry I didn't notice the ugly signage and road markings, I was going way too fast to see them.
On 21 Jul 2015 at 8:22pm The Old Mayor wrote:
More public cuts announced today. Imagine how the money's been spent in the past throughout the country, town halls, civic centres, county halls full of busy public service workers. To say nothing of central govenment departments. Full of clerks, typing pools, administrators, filing clerks, telephonists and receptionists, to say nothing of the qualified surveyors, conservationists, planning bods and this list goes on and on. Well, they've been rumbled, the money's run out. Lots of spare council properties either empty, or half full. At one time 1 in 4 jobs were in the public sector. Now that was wrong !!
On 21 Jul 2015 at 9:13pm Merlin Milner wrote:
Typing pools which century are you in??
On 21 Jul 2015 at 9:20pm Tom wrote:
Does this explain the non peak hour speeding in some areas such as Malling Street? I'm not sure what the limit is supposed to be, just know traffic goes far too fast and have never seen a speed camera or police stopping anyone. Unbelievably irresponsible
On 22 Jul 2015 at 12:41pm Auntie Aviator wrote:
"Especially since we are to be ruled by Brussels soon. They have announced they want an EU Governent now."
Mentalist alert!
On 22 Jul 2015 at 6:41pm Barker wrote:
Merlin, if you think there are too many councils how will taking part in one of them improve things? Council don't abolish themselves do they?
On 22 Jul 2015 at 9:07pm Tipex wrote:
Barker - merlin probably does more for Lewes in a week than you have in your life. Yes there are too many layers of council in lewes but, as an escc employee I can assure you there is an army of good people working for the county without whom your life and that of any elderly or disabled people you know would be massively worse off. It's like the NHS - you're oblivious to it until you need it when it becomes essential. Not perfect, but essential.
On 22 Jul 2015 at 10:40pm Unsurprised wrote:
Yes, Tipex, I agree, and there is a reason I referred to Councillors. (That is not a specific pop at Merlin). Yes the system is crap, hence the need for an intelligent pragmatic approach by sensible Councillors. There is currently no point whatsoever in having this expensive scheme. As it stands it is a waste of money. So what do Councillors propose to do about it, having spent taxpayer cash on this, rather than on something else? Where are the letters in the paper from active Councillors telling us what they propose, or what they think other politicians did wrong? It is like a political ghost town. It is hardly surprising people don't vote, or start being attracted by frightening extreme political parties.
On 24 Jul 2015 at 12:39pm Hay Nonnie Mouse wrote:
Has anyone actually got any figures for the number of people killed or injured on Lewes High street or are we just going by hear say? Saying you've seen people driving above the speed limit is not indicative of a risk. Has anyone evidence of figures before and after the speed limit imposition? Most of the time the traffic on the high street is at a standstill for vans, trucks and cars illegally parked, which I would say is a bigger hazard. Traffic is continually having to over take stationary vehicles and that more of a danger than anything else.
On 24 Jul 2015 at 1:43pm Town Centre Resident wrote:
I am not sure that figures will reveal how pedestrians unable to cross the road, or the various risks that make the town less safe than it should be , and which cannot be quantified until there is a serious accident. I have seen an accident caused by a lack of pedestrian safety, that could have resulted in death, but 'luckily' the person hit was young. If one person is killed or seriously injured at a dangerous crossing point, I doubt anyone will agree with ESCC Highways Dept that a crossing should only be installed once there is evidence that the risk is so great that a crossing is needed. That is ludicrous, isn't it? Are none of us worth the money? This is not an obscure problem, in a world with declining car use, is it?
Anyway, the point is that money has been spent on a speed limit based scheme, but no one is enforcing it. Like other people , I can see that it has made no difference, especially outside rush hour times when the town has less traffic , and speeding is easier.
We have a problem that could be much better addressed, but instead we have people flapping their hands around, making poor and incomplete choices, avoiding the difficult questions, and leaving us with no gain, but a lot of expensive, unused, ugly signage instead
On 27 Jul 2015 at 12:19pm Taff wrote:
Fully agree with you Town Centre Resident. However it begs the question of what waste of money venture our councillors will propose next?
I hear they want to put a pedestrian crossing on a bend along the Offham Road! That should get the accident statisitics up.