Steady on

I joined the Kendal Traffic Steering Group six years ago as a 'member of the public', and have been to virtually all of the meetings since.

There's no hope for me.

My friends used to ask me: "When are they going to get something done about the traffic?" An answer was impossible.

All the group seemed to talk about at first was 'who should attend', and 'how closely we can comply with Agenda 21', whatever that is.

Now that at last something is soon to materialise, the self-same friends say: "It'll never work! It'll be total chaos on the 28th!" An answer to that is also, at the time of writing, impossible.

I know that the county engineers (CAPITAdbs) have done their best, and that they have some whizzo technology in their offices that tells them how traffic will flow if they move this pedestrian crossing, that set of lights, that kerb line, or another signpost.

I know they can tell whether a bus will go down Lowther Street or not.

They can even pretend they're in the sky looking down on Kendal, watching us all driving around.

So I'm thrilled that things are soon to change in Kendal and that we can get away from the idea that we have to go through town each time we go anywhere (or it seems like that).

Whether it will work or not, nobody really knows, but please, give it a chance.

This is only the first stage in the whole package, so there are bound to be snags.

It will take a while to make all the computer-controlled traffic lights work together properly and efficiently, there will be bottlenecks where there weren't before, and we're all likely to get confused for a while.

It's to be expected.

Don't forget it's experimental, and there will be opportunity for everyone to express any concerns.

And while I' m on my soapbox, let's all take it steady.

Let's be patient with each other; some of us will get used to it quicker than others, so we should all be ready for other people, both drivers and pedestrians, to do some odd things.

The crazy thing is, that if it works perfectly, and the town really does get quieter, without major disasters elsewhere, we'll all just get on with our lives as if it's always been like that.

We'll think no more of it and that's just how it should be.

Then we can think about things that really do matter, like the state of the world, family morality, or who God is, and whether there's life after death.

Thanks, CAPITAdbs!

David C.

Smith

Kendal

n SIR, Thank you for your full page of guidance on the proposed traffic flow in Kendal (Gazette, April 19); it is most helpful.

As one who remains unconvinced that any undue problem exists, I confess to feeling annoyed by the amount of money and effort put into these changes, and feel that they could have been put to better use creating road improvements not necessarily in the town centre.

It seems to me that those who manage our roads and traffic have too ready access to the public's money and a lot of free time on their hands to devise what to do with it.

They obviously get more kudos from involvement in these schemes than they do from humble road maintenance.

Whilst they are marching their grand armies of cones up and down Sandes Avenue and Blackhall road, many of the roads in our region are steadily going from bad to worse, in some places to the point of becoming a hazard to road safety.

Bill Inman

Arnside