Tuesday 4 December 2007

Vehicles in the Town Square

The only vehicles that should be in the pedestrianised Town Square are those involved in officially-sanctioned events. But increasingly a large variety of unauthorised vehicles intrude. There are three kinds.

Firstly, there are those drivers who prefer to ignore the official delivery route to the Selborne Walk shopping centre (which involves using a dedicated side entrance on Selborne Road). The driver in the photo below preferred to drive up to one of the two Town Square pedestrian entrances to make a delivery (photo taken today).

Secondly, there are all those market traders who use the Town Square as a short-cut route to Selborne Road when market days end at 4 pm. They load up and roar past the children's play area at 25 mph.

Thirdly, there are those private motorists who realise they can get away with parking in the area to the left of the photograph.

On Sundays some drivers even use the Town Square as a short-cut route between Selborne Road and the High Street. There is nothing to stop them - the bollards designed to prevent this have long since vanished at both ends of the square, leaving wide gaps.

I wonder how long it will be before a pedestrian is run over in what is supposed to be a pedestrianised square?