Chanterlands Avenue replacement pigeon netting

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged with Wyke Area Committee to replace the defective pigeon netting on the Chanterlands Avenue railway bridge. We had agreement in principle with our Avenue Ward colleagues to split the bill for the work between them, us and the corporate centre subject to the price being right. It was, and in the end it was agreed after a lively discussion. It was also agreed to insist on the new netting being properly installed, as it was leaving gaps round the edges of the original netting that had cost several pigeons their lives. We will of course take a keen interest in the quality of the replacement netting and will report back when we know it is going up.

Loveridge Avenue traffic problems

John Fareham and John Abbott report that legal issues are impeding progress towards the implementation of a traffic scheme for Loveridge Avenue. The funds to implement the more elaborate and expensive option under consideration are still safely stashed away. The officers stand ready to consult with residents on which scheme they prefer. All that remains to be done is to overcome the objections of the Council’s legal officers who seem to equate something being unprecedented or unusual with its being potentially illegal. We know the law can be complicated, but we nevertheless think that if they’re right, they should be able to prove it with chapter and verse. We are therefore encouraging them to furnish us with evidence of why they think the scheme might be legally problematical; as soon as we get results on this we will pass them on.

Barrington Avenue street lights

John Fareham and John Abbott wish to know whether street lights such as are fitted in Allderidge Avenue would be a suitable replacement for those now in Barrington Avenue, which are in imminent need of replacement. As local residents will be aware the existing Barrington Avenue lamp standards have been in use since 1930 and are now sufficiently close to the end of their operational usefulness that they will need to be replaced very soon. We do of course understand that a number of local residents like them and that they wish to retain their traditional appearance, but when the street lights are close to conking out permanent retention is no longer an option. We therefore ask local residents whether they would prefer the existing lamp standards to be replaced with new, traditional-style lamps such as those in Allderidge Avenue or with something more modern.

Barrington Avenue controlled parking

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the Council conducted a consultation exercise on whether local residents, including those in Barrington Avenue, wished to pay to retain controlled parking. Letters from the Council with a voting form attached were circulated – those for Barrington Avenue started going out on February 1st – and residents then had three weeks to reply. Based on the replies a report was then prepared for the March meeting of Wyke Area Committee who then decided on what should happen to Barrington Avenue’s controlled parking zone. We therefore urged all local residents who have a view on the matter to take this opportunity to express it. The controlled parking zone was introduced a considerable number of years ago to cover an area a mile or so from the campus, simply because student parking, which has increased along with student numbers.

Goddard Avenue crossing area

John Fareham and John Abbott have provided funding for a safe crossing area on Goddard Avenue close to the newsagents’ shop. Obviously this will not happen instantaneously, and nor will it be the definitive solution to absolutely all Goddard Avenue traffic issues. However, it will get one of the basics right, and address one of the problems which got us interested in Goddard Avenue traffic in the first place – the difficulty of getting safely across a road where traffic loadings have kept on growing and where continuous improvements in car design make creating means of controlling drivers’ speed ever more difficult.

More on Bricknell Avenue resufacing

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured arrangements to extend the carriageway works on Bricknell Avenue to attend to one particularly unhelpful surface irregularity. We have received complaints from local residents that whenever large vehicles pass over a specific point in the road their homes shake. This is not by any means the only such area we have ever received complaints about, but the relative proximity of the works at the junction means that we have been able to arrange with the officers that, as part of those works, they will arrange with the contractors to have this bit of the road surface attended to at the same time.

Bricknell Avenue resurfacing

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for the resurfacing of Bricknell Avenue pavements from the roundabout to the junction with Fairfax Avenue. Every year the corporate centre asks the councillors from each ward to nominate three streets they think are their top priority for pavement resurfacing. As we have already mentioned, the corporate centre will be doing work on the road surface in 2015, but given the relationship between traffic vibration and the state of properties, and the necessity of adequate pedestrian safety provision in the vicinity of Bricknell Primary School, we included this stretch of Bricknell Avenue in our list of priorities. Given, however, that it may be possible to secure further improvements in carriageway surfaces by the application of the usual methods, we will of course be pursuing such improvements as well.

National Avenue resurfacing

John Fareham and John Abbott arranged for the resurfacing of National Avenue pavements from the junction with County Road North to Harpings Road. Every year the corporate centre asks the councillors from each ward to nominate three streets they think are their top priority for pavement resurfacing. We have already ensured work on the road surface in 2015, but we also included this stretch of National Avenue pavements in our list of priorities. We understood from information circulated to Wyke Area Committee that work was pencilled in to start on February 25th. Given, however, that it may be possible to secure further improvements in carriageway surfaces by the application of the usual methods, we will of course be pursuing such improvements as well.

Briarfield Road double yellow lines

John Fareham and John Abbott wish to know what Briarfield Road residents think of the possibility of double yellow lines down one side of Briarfield Road. We have received a number of representations from both local residents and the emergency services regarding the difficulty of getting into and out of Briarfield Road. We would therefore appreciate it if residents would let us know whether you would favour some such scheme as double yellow lines on the south side of Briarfield Road and around the turning circle. Obviously, if local residents were to support such an idea, we would need then to discuss the specifics with the officers and arrange for the formal consultation required for a Traffic Regulation Order, but we thought it best to ask informally first what people think of the general idea.