Parkstone residents demand traffic crackdown (From Bournemouth Echo)
When news happens text pix and video to 80360. Start your message with BE then leave a space.
Parkstone residents demand traffic crackdown
1:00pm Saturday 19th January 2013 in News By Darren Slade, Chief Reporter
ANGRY: From left, Lorraine Summers and Gill and Bill Wise
RESIDENTS of an Upper Parkstone road claim they are plagued by speeding drivers and lorries whose sat navs tell them it is a through-route.
Uppleby Road is among the few main routes off Ashley Road not to have traffic calming.
Resident Bill Wise appeared before councillors to say he had known people hit 70mph as they drove down the hill from Ashley Road.
And he said the council should take the road into account when it considered plans to spend up to £1million improving Ashley Road.
“We’ve had people come down that hill and they must be doing 70mph,” he said.
“The pavements in this road are probably some of the narrowest in Poole.
“When people are walking by with double buggies, they can’t get past and they have to go out in the road.”
He said people also had to walk in the road because dustmen left bins on the pavement rather than returning them to people’s driveways.
His wife Gill said the road had missed out when a 20mph zone was introduced around Branksome Heath and Sylvan schools nearby.
“We tried for a lower speed limit.
“The council said they couldn’t do it all the way up the road. They didn’t think it was necessary. There weren’t enough accidents,” she said.
She said she was concerned about children using the entrance to the play area near the brow of the hill.
“They say there’s a barrier but children can still run around the side,” she added.
Mr Wise recently told a meeting of Poole council’s Newtown and Parkstone area committee that any moves to prioritise public transport and pedestrians in Ashley Road could mean more traffic down Uppleby Road.
Near neighbour Lorraine Summers said the road was heavily used as a rat-run by people escaping traffic queues on Ashley Road.
“It’s getting worse since they dug the gas pipe up in Ashley Road,” she added. Newtown councillor Brian Clements said the council had difficulty balancing demands for traffic calming with drivers’ desire for easier journeys. He said most of Parkstone’s traffic calming scheme dated from the time Dorset County Council ran the area’s highways.
“At the time it was supposed to be the biggest in Europe but they did cut back on it towards the later stages because it seemed to have worked,” he said.
“There’s a low rate of injury accidents in the area which has to be welcomed but some roads that were originally intended to be calmed never have been.”
Steve Dean, senior traffic engineer at the Borough of Poole, said: “The improvement works being undertaken on Ashley Road are being funded by central government to support sustainable means of travel between Poole and Bournemouth including walking, cycling and buses.
“We appreciate the concerns raised by Mr Wise but it would be difficult to introduce traffic calming measures in Uppleby Road as part of this scheme as it falls outside the scope of this funding. However we will consider this issue when we review traffic calming features in the future.”
Comments(18)
speedy231278
says...
1:32pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Move along, another non story!
l'anglais
says...
1:34pm Sat 19 Jan 13
If it doesn't mention PRIVATE ROAD underneath or No HGV vehicles, then we can all use your Road.
If you don't like it move to a Cul-de-sac.
uvox44
says...
1:42pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Holland82
says...
1:58pm Sat 19 Jan 13
rich53
says...
2:26pm Sat 19 Jan 13
FNS-man
says...
2:41pm Sat 19 Jan 13
People who live on busy roads know fewer of their neighbours and feel a lot more isolated as their windows need to be permanently shut, and standing out on the street talking is unpleasant.
Streets are places where people live, not just places to drive through.
Tony_Cross
says...
2:57pm Sat 19 Jan 13
I wouldn't say the road is quite as bad as its made out. Yes it does have abit of traffic at peak times and also the odd muppet thrashing their cars beyond belief, but that happens on most roads around here which are relatively straight.
Holland82- I think you misread the article, they mentioned the pavements are the narrow element, not the road. This causes mothers with large prams/ elderly with shopping carts etc to use the road as the pavement especially near the top of the road does meet its requirement.
It would be nice if less people used the road as a rat run but it is evident that the calming measures put in place near Branksome school at the bottom of the road have had little effect. Drivers still maintain 30mph, and the residents park right up against and around the chicane type islands so you either don't see them or you have to give way anyway.
I have had more issues of drunken pedestrians using the road causing damage than by vehicles.
Tony_Cross
says...
2:58pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Bournefre
says...
3:52pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Thank you for the informative article!
Bournefre
says...
3:57pm Sat 19 Jan 13
John T wrote:Yes, it's not a hat it's a tree in the background, but from the camera angle it looks like it could be a funny hat.
rich53 wrote:I think your wife should have gone to Specsavers, but you might both be happier going to the Folies Bergeres to try and get a hat like that.!
My wife wants to know where see can get a hat like lorraine summers has on in the picture!!
That was the joke.
ben12341979
says...
4:18pm Sat 19 Jan 13
paulthefish
says...
4:31pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Bournefre wrote:great to see the folded arms are back. he must be furious! i think that is what folded arms mean anyway? but really....70 mph??
It sounds like I could shave a couple of minutes of my journey time by cutting down Uppleby Road. By the look of it there are plenty of parking spaces down there as well, which would make it an ideal place to park to go shopping on Ashley Road.
Thank you for the informative article!
Mikeyunibournemouth
says...
7:02pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Tony_Cross
says...
8:38pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Thoughts and views of the mentioned individuals do not reflect views of all residents of Uppleby Rd.
To be honest it's not much of a short cut.
guisselle
says...
2:09am Sun 20 Jan 13
village If I were you preferably in
a field!
EGHH
says...
7:17am Sun 20 Jan 13
Also the "cross your arms and look angry" photographer has been out again.
Reminds me of "Drop The Dead Donkey" where Damien, the reporter, carried a teddy bear that appeared in every shot of devastation he was sent to, so it would have "impact".
ben111
says...
10:33am Sun 20 Jan 13
Bournehammer68 says...
1:27pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Nice pic though.