I HAVE never seen an Echo item with so many on-line comments (75 in 24 hrs) as the item reporting the very distressing case of a man being knocked from his ladder in Ashley Road by a mobility scooter.
I am sure everyone hopes the man concerned makes a full recovery, and deepest sympathy to all concerned – his family and police and ambulance crews, and the mobility driver who must have been horrified.
That said, as far as Ashley Road pavement safety is concerned, we (residents) have been signalling to council, repeatedly year after year, the problems and dangers on the pavements.
To start with we have, every day, vehicles parking up on pavements. And parking on pavements means driving on pavements, to get up and then off again.
We have cycling on pavements completely out of all control. One youngster this week pedalling down main parade full tilt one handed with mobile phone clamped to his ear.
And the mobility scooters, some of them for sure coming down the pavements at alarming speeds. And we can add to that every day the skateboarders.
And all this on pavements which, in places, are not more than three or four feet wide, as where this dreadful accident happened.
The most critical of all points, month on month, we have no public authority presence in the high street. All community police officers all gone. So my message to council, and police, time to delegate either police community officers, or council parking officers, to take on keeping control and safety on what are supposed to be slow- moving pedestrian pavements – for people on foot, and if not on foot then no higher speed.
JEFF WILLIAMS
Jubilee Road
Parkstone
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