County Road North and National Avenue cyclists on the pavement

John Fareham and John Abbott are working with the Police to resolve issues with cyclists riding on the pavements of County Road North and National Avenue.

As regular readers will of course know we have been working on this matter for a considerable time and Police Community Support Officers have now been asked to undertake initiatives on the question of cycling on the pavement which has been identified as being a particular nuisance around the County Road North – National Avenue junction. Police officers and Council officers from the local Area Team will also be taking part in work on this issue. Cycling on the pavement is illegal for a reason and both of us have been buzzed by cyclists who really should know better. We hope therefore that, whilst not a solution to this problem that will last for all eternity, a joint Council-Police initiative on this issue should at least go some way towards reducing the problem.

Barrington Avenue street lights

John Fareham and John Abbott are arranging for the replacement of Barrington Avenue street lights.

As previously mentioned the lamp standards date originally from 1930 and are thus sufficiently past their sell-by date to figure in the corporate centre’s own plans for a citywide replacement of street lights with LED lamps. However, in the light of the concerns expressed by some local residents about the effect of removing the current lamp standards from an aesthetic standpoint, we have elected to find the money for suitable replacement lamp standards. Whilst we have yet to agree with the officers on a specific design of lamp standard, those who have cause to look at the new lamp standards we had installed on Allderidge Avenue may be ahead of the game in speculating what the new lamp standards might look like.

Cropton Park play equipment

John Fareham and John Abbott are arranging for the replacement of old and damaged play equipment on Cropton Park.

This of course reflects the importance we attach to adequate play equipment being provided for the use of local children.  We have also asked the officers to arrange for the prevention of vehicles getting onto the playing field as this is as much a maintenance issue in its own way as problems withy vandals contributing to the disrepair of the play equipment. We have also received a undertaking that, as soon as the proposals have been agreed upon, we will be furnished with copies for our consideration. At that stage in the process we hope to be able to provide local residents with details of exactly what is proposed and to invite residents to express their opinions.

Fairfax Avenue dustcarts

John Fareham and John Abbott have been working to resolve issues with malfunctioning dustcarts dropping quantities of refuse down Fairfax Avenue tenfoots.

We received reports from local residents to the effect that dustcarts were Leaking large amounts of rubbish  down local tenfoots in a manner not conducive to the safety of children and others.  We therefore referred the matter to the officers as soon as we heard about it and were subsequently informed that a smaller Scarab street cleaning vehicle had been sent to clear up the mess and that the vehicle used for emptying bins had been recalled to the depot for repairs. This may or may not be a one-off problem, and the vehicle concerned may equally well be repaired completely, but we remain concerned about the possibility of a recurrence of these problems and will of course refer them to the officers for action again if they recur.