Give us a date for reopening bridge
Well, well, well! It seems there were so many items in the Chronicle of the 14th May which came under the heading of “Matters – Traffic”, that I missed one!
The small item on page 11 – so interesting in that it states: “the council said it hopes to open up the bridge, with developer Crest Nicholson, later in the summer”.
“Later in the summer” – now there’s a nice, vague, non-specific phrase behind which one can hide - one by which one cannot be tied!
The council originally stated that this bridge would be ‘temporarily closed’ for 6-8 weeks – but in actual fact this has stretched to 7-8 years!
So it is true that nothing lasts so long as the temporary! Talk about being fobbed off! But then, this whole affair has been nothing but procrastination and obfuscation from the start to this very day.
Just for a change I would suggest that the council, in company with its partner, Crest Nicholson, come out into the light and announce an official opening date for this bridge – preferably before the 30th June, 2020 - I add the year because one can never tell!
Both parties stating a positive fact and, with no further prevarication, sticking to it!
What mysterious reason can there be for further dithering? As I understand it, the bridge could be open to light traffic tomorrow, so why the delay?
Of course, it’s been open for the use of cyclists and pedestrians for the last four years – less noise and no traffic fumes for the residents of Riverside to contend with.
Come to think of it – could this be the “hidden agenda” for all these inexplicable delays?
Even though we were promised that the bridge would be reopened to all road users, and that includes car drivers!
Also, this would take some of the pressure off both Windsor Bridge and Churchill Bridge – thus cutting down a little on air pollution in those two areas.
I can only conclude by reiterating the point raised by William Close in his letter published in the Chronicle of the 9th April: Is the handling of this matter by the council (as well as Crest Nicholson) even lawful?
Rosemary Cox
By email