Former mayor calls for roadside clean-up after motorcyclist's death (From Bucks Free Press)
Send your news, photos and videos by texting bucksfreepress to 80360 or email
Former mayor calls for roadside clean-up after motorcyclist's death
1:00pm Sunday 21st October 2012 in News By Simon Farr
Former mayor calls for road-side clean-up after motorcyclist death
A FORMER mayor is urging the authorities to remove large blocks from the roadside in the wake of the tragic death of motorcyclist Jeremy Edwards.
Darren Hayday, ex-High Wycombe Mayor, believes Buckinghamshire County Council and police should team up to clear large objects placed on verges and pavements by residents trying to prevent people parking outside their homes.
The keen motorcyclist believes the authorities could hand out or sell plastic cones to residents, in a bid to prevent another tragedy from happening.
In an open letter, Mr Hayday said: “I would like to raise the issue as to why nothing is done jointly by the police and BCC to remove these types of blocks and rocks from outside people’s properties.
“It is time the council provided plastic bollards, as they do in parts of Sands, as normally these stretches of land are owned by BCC or the home owner.
“I have no problem with people looking to stop cars from parking outside their homes, but something should be done before someone else loses their life.
“What would have happened if one of these blocks were thrown off the nearby motorway bridge?”
Officers said the block had been moved about eight-feet after previously being embedded in the roadside to prevent motorists from parking on a verge. No-one has been arrested as yet.
Mr Hayday said he had to mount a grass verge in Sands last winter. He hit a concrete block, hidden in the snow, which damaged his car.
He added: “I wrote to BCC and they disputed that it was not their fault even though I know that the land that the rock was on, was owned by them.
“This seems to be a very grey area in the law and one which should be dealt with rather than a blind eye given by both organisations.”
Transport for Buckinghamshire’s Rosemary Bryant told the BFP that as the concrete block was not ‘roadside furniture’ and TfB it had not dealt with any collisions such as Mr Edwards’ before, no suggestions had been made.
Comments(16)
townraider
says...
4:59pm Sun 21 Oct 12
can i suggest you wear a cone on your head with sign look at me and vote for me -- that way it will be blatantly obvious your looking to build political collateral for your return to politics.
My suggestion is link to a party/group that is really putting Wycombe first rather than jumping on every story for personal social collateral!!
realist_highwycombe
says...
5:26pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Your suggestion that the council and the police should team up and go round every property with a block outside is plain stupid.
Do you really think the police have the time to do that as well as being 24 hour social workers? And where will the council get the manpower from to do that? Care to fund it?
rem708
says...
5:40pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Concrete/wooden blocks are far cheaper and better option. It is fortunate that incidents like this are very rare events. If anything needs doing it is with the council to protect the verges with hefty fines for those who chew them up with their cars thus negating the need for these blocks that a minority think is fun to put on the road.
Eagle eye
says...
7:31pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Stalemate
says...
7:51pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Do BFP exercise any editorial discretion before publishing an article?
Is Dazza having a meltdown?
Stalemate
says...
8:21pm Sun 21 Oct 12
If Dazza, the "keen motorcyclist", came a cropper on his bike, would he be the ex-ex-mayor?
geoffW
says...
9:08pm Sun 21 Oct 12
townraider wrote:I for one ... and many others by the look of things ... are fed up with the egocentric Hayday.
DArren
can i suggest you wear a cone on your head with sign look at me and vote for me -- that way it will be blatantly obvious your looking to build political collateral for your return to politics.
My suggestion is link to a party/group that is really putting Wycombe first rather than jumping on every story for personal social collateral!!
I repeat my statement that the comments section of this site has been taken over by the political posturing of Darren Hayday.
Put a sock in it Darren ... please. I can't take any more of the "I'm Darren Hayday ... look at me" comments.
Voyeur
says...
9:09pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Gazzetta
says...
8:49am Mon 22 Oct 12
Stalemate
says...
9:11am Mon 22 Oct 12
But I am starting to see from some of the other posts that I am not alone in my feelings of unease over this fellow.
Hayday raises no new concerns in this article in relation to public safety. The remedy he proposes is entirely implausible; a cocktail of hundreds of cones blended with hundreds of school children would create road hazards on an epic new scale.
It is also entirely cynical, in my opinion. to continue to use the title "ex-mayor" to qualify an individual who freely expresses his disillusionment with the party under which he served the term.
We all know that the mayorship in Wycombe is a ceremonial office circulated annually by the major parties in the town. It in no way reflects any particular skill, talent or merit of the individual concerned; therefore continuing to use the title after a term of office as capital to qualify oneself is entirely inappropriate.
Kania 2000
says...
9:30am Mon 22 Oct 12
Gazzetta wrote:Gazzetta, I have to agree.
Are we missing the point here? Who moved the block from the grass verge to the road that caused the death of this motorcyclist. If they charged the person responsible, as well as the person who placed the concrete block onto the grass verge in the first place I am certain they will all disappear very rapidly.
Does anyone know what the law is reguarding such obstacals placed on the road margins?
There are far too many of these make shift bollards being placed on the road margins. Some are even requested by Parish Councils!
rem708
says...
10:28am Mon 22 Oct 12
These verges are there to separate pedestrians from traffic and therefore a road safety margin. Damage to these verges costs us taxpayer’s money and it’s unsightly.
The placing of any object on a verge is unlawful however the council will allow you to install plastic bollards which only they will supply at highly inflated prices. The installer is still responsible for maintenance but they are not fit for purpose and are easily damaged.
Homeowners, frustrated at damage caused to verges, place unlawful obstructions on them.
This death is a very isolated incident and was NOT caused by the verge obstruction but by the PERSON who removed it and put it on the carriageway.
Rather than look towards the person who tried to protect the verge one needs to look at why it was placed there in the first place!
If we prosecuted those who park unauthorised vehicles on verges there would be no damage and the need to place obstructions goes away thus removing the temptation to the ‘moron’ who placed the fatal obstruction in the road.
An admission from the council shows they have NEVER prosecuted anyone for verge damage. If this changed not only will the district look a lot better but money would be saved in repairs and hence less deaths.
Get real everyone and look at the root cause
Gazzetta
says...
12:40pm Mon 22 Oct 12
I Love Ivor
says...
1:15pm Mon 22 Oct 12
shandee
says...
3:01pm Fri 26 Oct 12
as for mr heyday, can i stick him in the grass verge outside my house. next doors dog is always looking for a wooden pole to **** on !
buser says...
3:47pm Sun 21 Oct 12