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Danger: loony experts at work
•THERE has been an interesting operation taking place in Prebend Street, Islington, on and off, over the past few weeks. It concerns the widening of a cycle path across the tiny green fronting St James Church.
It involves laying expensive-looking tiles, erecting a black post, moving, a matter of some centimetres, two small traffic islands and one lamppost, replacing two obelisks, causing congestion and noise with temporary traffic lights, a throbbing generator, pneumatic road drills, lorries, dust, debris, inconvenience, rage and incomprehension.
Oh, and I nearly overlooked the rather cool paintings of little white bicycles on the road nearby.
Can anyone wiser and of greater authority than me explain why?
And while they are at it, could this person tell me whether residents were consulted before it was decided to go ahead with the work?
By the way, I don’t mean the leaflet thrust through my door to say it was going to happen. I mean consult – as in consult. And while this person is efficiently and promptly responding to my questions, could they please just set out how much the whole exercise is costing and who is paying for it? Surely it is not from our council tax?
Might it perhaps be from the seemingly bottomless purses of that nice Ken Livingstone?
Or funded by the London Cycling Campaign? Or even by that keen cyclist and MP, Boris Johnson?
Could they also let me know why the money might not have been more sensibly spent on crime prevention or old people or those with special needs?
I really do find it all so confusing. As do many other members of the community. Are we all losing our marbles, do you think?
Because if we are not, is this just another example of loony councillors, loony planners and loony traffic experts making Islington a more and more loony place in which to live?
JOHN DUNCAN
Prebend Street
N1
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