Rotherham Council, RE: Cycle Lanes and General Incompetency

Sunday the 7th of Oct, 2012   |  Comment  |  Category: Real world

Before anything, let me say this isn't how I'd address them normally, especially if I wanted something doing, this is just me venting/voicing my actual opinion on the matter, I will write a formal letter of complaint however, non-abusive of course, and if anyone would like any points raised, comment them below.

Of late I've being wondering if this cesspit of a town actually has a council at all. I don't know if you're aware, but there are weeds growing from pretty much every orifice of the town center, pot holes on every road, and to top it all off crime as a whole is on the rise. What are you actually doing about it? Because as far as I can see, you're doing a whole lot of nothing.

Oh, okay, so you did resurface a few roads... Um... No. You resurfaced 10m to 20m stretches of a few roads, and only one side of said roads. As for crime? Well, I can hardly blame you for South Yorkshire Police's general inadequacies when it comes to actually doing, you know, police work. As for the weeds, well, naturally, you'll claim that you have no money and you're prioritising things.

So why have you built new offices for yourself? I can understand the football stadium, that in a couple of million years might become profitable, but seriously, you didn't need new offices, they weren't a priority. Plus, you've not exactly kept to a tight budget with them have you? Oh no, you've gone for the whole shebang. Whose managing the towns finances? Mickey Mouse?

Anyway, this is going to far off topic. My real reason for writing, other than to highlight this charade you all put on of being a good local council, is to ask, why do you hate cyclists?

After the Olympics cycling nationally rose, that was clearly evident in Rotherham, and what was the councils response? To create more cycle lanes? To stop traffic parking in the cycle lanes? To create more bike facilities? No. You decided to lower and widen central islands to facilitate the rise in obese people on granny scooters, because it's not like we have a problem with obesity and should be trying to make these people walk or anything... In doing this, do you know what else you did? Let me explain. On Fitzwilliam road, for example, you made it so that if a cyclist was going past the crossing, a car could not pass them whilst doing so, as they could before. Note this is a rarity, so most drivers (given that the road is used by out of town drivers, i.e, HGV drivers) aren't aware that there won't be room to overtake (like there is in the rest of the sane world) meaning that they have to break very very sharply. It's only a matter of time before a HGV or car doesn't stop, and someone get's killed. When they do, you better hope you have some money made from your fancy stadium, because it'll be you they sue. I'm willing to bet on it.

I'd also like to ask why you take no action against people parking in cycle lanes? Ticket them! Seriously, put your traffic wardens to good use, you'd make money, and no one would be living life on a knife edge. I know for a fact that if I started parking my bike in the middle of a road, it'd be sorted before I had even dismounted...

Oh, and how come bus drivers aren't trained to look for bikes? Several times I've been going down a road, trying to overtake a bus which has pulled in, and stopped, and as I get towards the middle/front of the bus, it just pulls out. That wouldn't happen if I was a car, and if the highway code dictates that I ride on the road, then equal consideration should be given to cyclists, no? Do you just have a general vendetta against anyone with less than four wheels beneath them?

To conclude, I'd like to know by what logic you all work? I mean, it was only on the news the other night that Rotherham is well above the national average for obesity, and what do you to combat it? Try and kill those of us who are trying to stay healthy. You're all a bunch of blundering bafoons, you only have to read the Rotherham Advertisers letters section to realise that, but given that 99% of complaints to you are met with the same generic response, I'm beginning to doubt that you, as a collective, can read. Seriously, 6 year olds with Alzheimer's could do a better job.

I await your response, though I'm unsure why, it's not like it's going to change anything, sincerely,

J.Brailsford

Tags: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Councle, Cycling, Cycle Lanes, Obesity, Retards