WEEKEND WEB: Spalding Guardian letters
This week it’s all about driving... plus Thought For the Week, which is about walking...
Why don’t we have traffic calming?
I was invited to the road safety meeting in Cowbit PC , where Lincolnshire County Council Highways hierarchy said speeding is a problem in all rural villages, particularly in our ‘patch’ – High Road, Whaplode; Ravensbank, Whaplode St Catherine; and Broadgate, Whaplode Drove.
Regarding Whaplode village, the problem is not necessarily speeding but the quantities of vehicles, particularly HGVs. The best solution would be a bypass as Whaplode village is the only village between Spalding and King’s Lynn that has not been by-passed.
During the meeting, traffic calming was an emotive topic. Why does the county council not champion this solution as Cambridgeshire County Council does in Eye, Thorney, Newborough, Murrow, etc.
With particular reference to Cowbit, a very sensible suggestion was made to close the ‘old’ road from Crowland to Cowbit at the Radar Tower junction. This was not readily accepted by the elected representatives.
Coun Bob Merchant
Whaplode Parish Council chairman
Let’s hope to see more police in villages
It was good to be at the meeting, where many locals, parish councillors and South Holland District Councillors turned out to Cowbit village hall.
Many from other parishes also came for the open meeting regarding speeding through their villages.
It was very informative and organiser Nigel Pepper did a great job getting hold of so many people to attend and kept the meeting in check, making sure everyone who wished to speak had an opportunity to do so.
Many questions were put to John Siddle and Ian Swallow of Lincs Road Safety Partnership, Insp Gareth Boxall, PCSO Naomi Newall, Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones and Highways executive Richard Davies. They all showed their support to the community and sympathised, and agreed that it was ongoing and they would do all they could to help the issue.
The expert road safety partnership officials advised us that although speeding is a concern it is no worse than any other village in Lincolnshire and so Cowbit is not suffering in isolation and therefore it was good to see the bigger picture.
We all know police resources are stretched but everyone hoped the Police would take notice of the public’s concerns and have a higher presence in as many villages as possible. It is hoped we will see more local patrols and the police speed camera van sited at strategic points throughout South Holland.
I personally look forward to working with the Police and helping the community where possible and hopefully being involved with the new initiative which is encouraging locals to be trained with hand-held speed guns and working in their village to help combat this problem.
If you would like to be part of this initiative and know a group of people who would be willing to join you and be trained to use the equipment, please call me on 07779895388 and I will pass on your details and also try to work with you to achieve a safer environment in South Holland.
Jan Whitbourn
District councillor for
Whaplode and Holbeach St John’s
Please use your indicators
Why do some drivers not signal their intentions? Are they afraid that it will run down their battery, or is it they just can’t be bothered?
Please, drivers, help other road users by using your indicators. I know that we still have to be careful, and not rely completely on signals, but it does help to have some idea.
George Jones
Moulton Chapel
LIVES do an amazing job for us all
With regard to the recent snow conditions that was called the ‘Beast from the East’ due to its sudden appearance, so quick that no one in their nickname department at the Met Office had time to give it a trendy name like ‘Blizzard Betty’ or similar, I would like to offer my thanks to the local LIVES emergency medical service who appeared on the scene on the A17 where I was involved, like many others I gather, in an accident.
Both myself and another driver, in separate incidents, ended up off the road after black ice or similar conditions took their toll on us, but what is commendable is that the LIVES arrived within minutes of the incident – but I pointed out that I was basically ‘walking wounded’ and okay as such.
Grateful thanks also to the kind lady who stopped originally and gave me a supply of paper towels to help stop my head leaking on the snow.
Considering that LIVES is basically funded by donations, it certainly delivers the service and best wishes to everybody concerned.
John Ward
Moulton Seas End
Hope road repairs come from this ‘earner’
Your story ‘Cameras catch a dozen a day’, Spalding Guardian, March 8, makes for interesting reading.
Your weekly column naming and shaming the speeders suggests that the speeding fines they receive must mean a revenue of around a million pounds was generated on the A16 in 2017.
Nice little earner – let’s hope some of the money gets spent on repairing some of the appalling roads in South Holland.
Victor Lewis
Spalding
Thought For The Week
I encountered a church leader walking along a shopping street in Spalding recently. The person said they prayer walked once a week around the town centre. Now that’s a novel way to pray for other people, perhaps a new craze will start!
Hardly the head bowed, eyes closed, kneeling position. Still who said posture mattered, it’s the praying earnestly and sincerely to God that is effective to bring about change.
Prayer walking suggested an outside activity, outside of church, outside of private space, but fully integrated with the life of the community.
Praying for the shops, offices, cafes, banks and building societies. Not forgetting charity shops and public houses.
Prayer walking would open me up to curiosity as I noticed the people that I would pass. Who are these people? What is their journey of life and faith like? Do they need a person to talk to? Are they walking around aimlessly or with a purpose?
Prayer walking could be called power walking! Healthy benefits to the body of the walker, and an invitation for the power of God to enter into the community of Spalding. You won’t notice the prayer walker but you might notice that their prayer has changed your situation.
Rev Frances Ballantyne
Spalding Methodist minister
