19 hours Ago
Having a wife with disabilities, it is obvious to me that pavements and roads need to be of good condition to avoid trips and falls. To combat the rising damage to vehicles and insurance claims, the Government has awarded Wiltshire Council extra money to deal with potholes, and it is welcome that the Government wants councils to evidence the extra repairs before more additional funds are released. Writing for this column gives me opportunity to say a special public thank you to Wiltshire Council Highways Engineers who created the new improved crossing point on Churchfields Road, I use it regularly to access the train station, a great improvement for pedestrian safety.
There's plenty still to do in making Salisbury a better place to live, many pavements do not have suitable crossing points for wheelchair users, and even brand-new estates can give cause for wheelchair users to travel along the road either because there is not a suitable dropped curb or quite often because vehicles are parked on the pavements. Driven by demand, vehicles keep getting bigger. Last week I passed a vintage single seat three wheeled car; its shopping trolley size made the driver look especially vulnerable.
I doubt shrinking car sizes will become fashionable, but it would certainly make life easier around cramped residential roads and car parks. It might even lead to more homeowners using their garage as something other than an extra storeroom. Tongue in cheek, maybe, but at some point, I envisage planning laws will catch up to recognize if the garage is actually utilised for its intended design.
Coming from a generation with few cars on the road, wildlife-filled front gardens, and everyday reliance on public transport, today’s norm has certainly lost a beautiful ambiance and charm..
