From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
ROAD OVERLOAD AT LODE NODE GOADS DRIVERS
(IT'S QUY ACTUALLY, but it doesn't sound right, and the back-up starts
at Lode). It was suggested that the overloading of the B1102 results from
rerouting habits arising from the new bypass. We are getting more through
traffic, and it bodes no good. It's been bad before, and now it's bad
again. To reach Cambridge during the morning rush hour, you must allow at least
one hour (cycling is faster!). Is anyone doing something about it? We did not
get to hear.
Cllr Williams said the bus service between Cambridge and Newmarket will soon run every 30 minutes and there will be some new buses too. (If you get stuck in Lode don't make a fuss on the bus). There will also be a major new traffic interchange at Cambridge Railway Station to remove some of the inconvenience caused by the University's opposition to a central location for the station when Queen Vic was more than just a pub.
Social care in CCC is failing children. Our support for deprived children comes in at 31st out of the 34 English Shires. At the same time, our position in the earnings league is 5th from the top, while only 2 Shires have lower Council Taxes. Got it? We are relatively under-taxed, and under-privileged kids carry the difference. Thanks kids. Central Government has allocated £2m. more in 2006, but it'll be £3.5m. less in 2007. CCC can no longer afford 5 grass annual cuts. It'll be only 4 cuts in 2006.
PILE ON THE PYLONS
Cllr Alderson raised the subject of the rogue electricity pylon on Whiteway
Drove. A local farmer refused permission to site a pylon in his field as
planned, so it's now at the very edge of the very narrow single
carriageway. Recognising a very hazardous situation, a protective Armco barrier
is being erected on the road side of the pylon. This compounds the error,so
perhaps the first passing 44 ton lorry will take it with it. Some agricultural
machinery is 6m. wide, even folded up, so that's going to be interesting on
a 4m. wide carriageway. Let's just divert the road around the pylon? The
best news of the evening though was that one complete pylon kit has been
stolen, perhaps for a kid's Christmas present, perhaps for its scrap value.
Have you seen it?
We shall soon have a new SLOW sign approaching the village on Station Road, and HiViz replacement PASS signs along the Drove, made of material with no scrap value. The Rate Support grant will increase by £0.5m. There's a black hole in the ECDC pension scheme, so it's in line with most pension schemes. It is hoped to keep Council Tax increases to 2.5% in 2006, about the same rate as inflation. Watch this space.
SIGN UP FOR THE VILLAGE
The village sign is up again, a great credit to quite a large team - reported elsewhere - who managed a difficult operation at remarkably little cost to the PC. Thanks guys. The planning application for new houses at the AW water tower on Mill Hill has been withdrawn. They will now be licking their wounds and planning a new assault, probably. The Rogers Road footpath hard surface is now revealed for the first time this century, though a new surface must wait, possibly until it has become overgrown again? I remember surprise at discovering a hard surface under slippery leaves along the Lower End footpath, after more than a twelvemonth of use. The drain at the High Street bus stop is blocked, so bus wheels rinse the waiting passengers' shoes. It's a bonus really, if your shoes were brown to start with.
PARKING UP THE JUNCTION
A local resident asked for thought to be given to the parking situation at the
junction of Station Road and the High Street. Worst at the start of the school
day, when large vehicles turning into Station Road can face an almost
impossible task. That very morning an 8-wheeler managed this feat with just
inches (x 25.4mms) to spare on either side. Cars parked on both sides of both
roads, much too close to the junction itself, effectively reduce the
thoroughfare to a single carriageway pinch point. A discussion weighed up the
interests and rights of parents with small children, of residents with no
offroad parking facility, and of road users with somewhere to go. A plan of the
road layout was circulated showing the RED LOIN, so some people clearly have
gut feelings about this. The consensus view was for a parking prohibition on
the south (Rose Cottage) side of Station Road from the junction gate. This
would apply from Monday to Friday during daytime and the PC will advise CCC of
their wishes. While there were once double yellow lines on the east side of
High Street, opposite Station Road, these were a mistake, and have been
removed. They never had any statutory significance, and none is planned for
them, perhaps because, at all times of day, the Highway Code says vehicles
should not be parked opposite junctions:
217: DO NOT park your vehicle or trailer on the road where it would endanger, inconvenience or obstruct pedestrians or other road users. - do not stop opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
(The GIVE WAY sign in Station Road is about 10 m. from the junction with High Street).
With best wishes and seasonal greetings, I remain your humble scribe,