We must tackle the root of the problem (From News Shopper)

We must tackle the root of the problem

11:46am Tuesday 20th January 2004

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As a resident of Tremaine Road I know only too well the danger of trying to get into Marlow Road due to lack of visibility.

Therefore, I was happy to see Bromley Council wanted to do something about it (News Shopper, January 7).

But I also know what a problem parking is in Tremaine Road and many a night I have to park in another road some distance from my house.

The fact the Multiple Sclerosis Society seems to use Tremaine Road as a parking garage for its ambulances and minibuses does not help either. But that is by the by.

Sight lines have all to do with speed. The higher the speed of the approaching vehicles the greater the sight line needed.

Thus, the council has decided to install 8m kerb build-outs in Marlow Road.

But why not lower the speed down the road? None of the new measures seem to consider addressing the main cause of the problem in the first place.

We know speed bumps do not work (as highlighted by the London Ambulance Service, the Metropolitan Police and, surely, the bus companies).

Why can the council not introduce three or four right-of-way chicanes down Marlow Road instead?

It is going to introduce pedestrian crossings anyway so why not rather make these a combination crossing and single lane right of way? This would significantly lower the speeds down Marlow Road, in my opinion.

This way the kerb build-outs on the road junctions can be made redundant or shorter and we can have more parking bays.

Or better still, save the money and just do the chicanes and see how things go and introduce the kerb build-outs sometime in the future if need be.

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