Mea Culpa (in part at least) When I wrote 'Ditchling Rise' I was in my
geriatric way getting confused with Stanford Avenue. The bit I have in mind
is down by the corner of that road and Preston Road.

Will get back to you on photos - but don't hold breath, I'm fairly busy (for
a retired person) at the moment.

Couldn't agree more. I'm (on balance) a bit of a fan of Brighton and Hove
Council - but I can't help thinking sometimes (about local authorities
generally,) that in my youth when, relatively speaking , local councils had
real things to do - like run schools and colleges, build houses, sometimes
provide local water and gas, and even closely supervise the police through
'watch committees' they did these things with a rather small staff of
modestly paid people - including a not overgenerously rewarded town clerk.
Now that most of their powers have been stolen away by successive central
governments - which I deplore - there seem to be rather larger staffs,
quite handsomely remunerated chief executives - and yet when they actually
have to do anything, like cycle lanes for example - they apparently need to
spend quite large sums on hiring consultants some of whom (like the East
Sussex ones fro cycle lanes) would seem to have great difficulty in
distinguishing between their elbows from other parts of their anatomy.

End of contribution to 'Grumpy Old Men'

Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick James" <patrickjames@...>
To: <brighton_area_cyclists@...>
Sent: Saturday, January 01, 2005 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: [brighton_area_cyclists] from the Argus


>
>
> On December 31 2004, i.bullock <i.bullock@...> wrote:
>
>>Hi Becky. I don't think we're talking about the same thing - though I am
>>going to go and have a proper look sometime soon. I think the lane you
>>have in mind is up by Beaconsfield road, whereas the remnant I was
>>complaining about is down on what you describe as the one-way 'western
>>end' i e by Preston Road. If possible I will photograph it - explaining
>>these locations and then other people recognising the description is not
>>as easy as it sounds!
>>
>>Quite agree about those 'consultants' - it beggars belief that anyone
>>with or without 'expertise' could have designed some of what I -no doubt
>>unfairly - think of as the Delia Venables cycle lanes. It was 'gesture
>>politics' at its most futile.
>
> Hello Ian
>
> I think it's a great idea to photograph the lane.
>
> I have this discussion forum set so it rejects attachments but there is a
> place that you can put pics here:
>
> http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/brighton_area_cyclists/files/
>
> Alternatively you can of course just put them on some web-space of your
> own if you have some and email the URL here.
>
> Like you I was amazed to read that 'consultants' had been used at all for
> the creation of cycle lanes in Brighton & Hove but maybe their brief was
> to wipe out as many cyclists as possible?
>
> Patrick
>
>
>
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> brighton_area_cyclists-unsubscribe@...
>
>
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>