Author: David Busby

Catch Up Posts – Footpath Fest

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We are extremely lucky to have enough footpaths in a relatively small area to create a ‘fest’ in the first place.   On Sunday I spent a couple of  hours in Copdock & Washbrook trying to find pictures of various animals on signposts!  What a lovely day it was too.  However the turnout was pretty disappointing – just a dozen souls including a couple of children who ‘dragged’ their mum round the whole circuit in order to win the England football and supporters’ pack.

Interestingly the Parish produce a ‘Welcome Pack’ for new people to the parish.  Amongst the items in it is a footpath map and book – if you have a half day to spend you could try to get round all of the paths – the animal  pictures have been left on the sign posts.Picture of the The Avenue

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Catch Up Posts – Old London Road Lighting

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Since the SCC Highways Management team have moved in with Kier in Phoenix House it seems that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

In Endeavour House the Highways Network Improvement team are desperately trying to find a good enough reason to replace the ‘Beagle Roundabout’ with traffic lights at a cost of £125,000.  Supposedly this will reduce the chance of accidents – though there have only been a handful of minor ones in the last 5 years – and improve the flow of traffic along the A1071 for the couple of rush hours.   So what is wrong with this hypothesis?  At rush hour the build up of traffic will only be eased by sorting out the junction with Hadleigh Road through a left filter and changing the phasing of the lights at the Holiday Inn which do not let enough vehicles out from the A1071.  Then there is the future proposed development behind the Holiday Inn – shouldn’t the exits from this site be built into any solution, especially as there could be some 300 houses and 70 businesses on the site.

On the other hand the Highways Management team in Phoenix House want to take down and not replace street lights on a stretch of the old London Road in Washbrook.  This will pitch into darkness a junction where there has been 2 cyclists killed in the last couple of years and at least 2 vehicles (one an ambulance!) have been caught going the wrong way up the dual carriageway.  The schoolchildren have to cross this road to get to their bus, the residents have to cross it to get to the community hall.  There is a hotel with function suite and a number of businesses in the area.  There is a school and a garage.  Ah but the road isn’t used any more they say – try saying that to the residents when there is a build up of traffic on the A12.

So whilst the right hand wants to waste money on a flawed scheme the left hand can’t find any to retain a semblance of safety.

But what are your views on:

a) replacing the roundabout at The Beagle with traffic lights;

b) removing the street lights on the old London Road from the Cameo Hotel to the Tesco underpass?

Catch Up Posts – Suffolk One Parking

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Picture of Suffolk One

 

Fantastic building, great facilities and courses, great teachers and students but why-oh-why do we ignore residents’ fears at the outset and then have no solution when they come to pass? From the very first meeting the residents were raising the issue of student parking – where were they going to park.  Not enough money in the project budget apparently, anyway “we have a green travel plan so only a handful will use their cars”!  Really?

Picture of Suffolk One Street ParkingAngry residents publicised their plight in the Ipswich Star.  Numerous surveys have been done and proposals are close to being presented to residents of Pinewood and Sprites.

On Tuesday I walked round the impacted streets with Steve & Chris from Highways to firm up on the amount of yellow paint we are going to need.  I wonder if Del Boy has any of that luminous tunnel paint left?!

 Not a solution we will be looking at!

Picture of Suffolk One Car