OPINION: Letters to the editor of the Newbury Weekly News
I was hit head on at the new road layout
I have just read the article about the Hector’s Way link road (Newbury Weekly News, August 15), but while I agree, as a Sainsbury’s/ Mole Valley customer, that the road in principle is a good idea to ease congestion, I had a very near miss, being hit head on by a driver turning out of Mill Lane into my lane as there is no signage to say the road layout had changed.
I contacted WBC; the man was very understanding and added it to the list.
Within an hour I got an email saying that it had been “inspected” and that no further action was needed.
I’d like to know how they inspected it as it was 4pm last Friday.
As for the councillor suggesting more traffic lights will help, that is ludicrous and will only cause more congestion.
To my mind we have too many lights on our roundabouts.
What’s wrong with using a roundabout as it was intended and giving way to the right?
Karen Powell
Thatcham
Well done for this brilliant new link road
I think the new link road is brilliant.
Some people will always complain about anything new, especially if they haven’t had a chance to protest about it. Well done.
David Piddington
Newbury
Cut the long grass at our road junctions
The council could improve the look of our area by doing some grass cutting, especially at road junctions rather than cleaning road signs (‘Signs of improvement after scrub up’, Newbury Weekly News, August 15).
This would have more impact on people.
Who really remembers dirty road signs, even if you could see some of them through the long grass?
Hilary Fraser
Burghfield Common
Why have they wasted money changing path?
The council who was going to do much better than the outgoing one have yet to prove that as they seem to waste cash on something they don’t need to, like the Kiln Road roundabout to the footway in Shaw.
Why? No one knows why. And what for?
The path has been used for donkey’s years as it was, so why waste money on changing it?
I appealed for a proper exit from path to road, but they and the outgoing council refused to do it for us.
We came here in 1978 but we and others had a proper footpath and it has never been topdressed in all this time.
The council don’t like me going round cutting overgrown foliage taking over the footpath and have threatened me with flytipping if I do so, but they don’t tell me to stop cleaning out the subway as they never come and do it themselves.
The council don’t appear to have any safety measures on the footways.
I have a different attitude to them.
I have more for me than against me.
I haven’t got the attitude ‘sod you mate, I’m OK, I don’t use it’.
Keith Haines
Poplar Place, Newbury
Council doesn’t seem able to tackle things
I have come to the conclusion that West Berkshire Council is no longer working efficiently. The reasons are endless but to name a few:
They have declared a climate emergency but are doing little to solve one of the main problems – vehicle emissions.
Over the years I have never managed to drive along the A4 from Henwick to Dunstan without stopping at a red light, and whilst stopped we just sit there waiting for nothing to emerge from the opposing roads.
What happened to the sensors that allow automatic operation?
Fifty years ago Slough was famous for having its signals linked so that the A4 traffic could pass through without stopping.
Sixty years ago in Mönchengladbach, Germany, there were a series of signs on one major road denoting the speed at which traffic should travel to ensure no stopping.
So much for progress.
Then we have their website giving roadworks. Works and delays are happening which aren’t mentioned and warnings are given for works that have finished.
To cap it all the page is plastered with red flags, eg Lower Way and the Memorial area in Thatcham, which aren’t roadworks but are polling stations for the General Election six weeks ago!
Mentioned recently in this paper was overflowing waste bins and ‘dog’ bins, and this is also happening all the time at the Discovery Centre.
Amongst the feeble excuses made was that dog waste was not hazardous.
Neo Petman
Thatcham
