How about these ideas for car parking?

When roundabouts were roundabouts and we had no traffic lights and not that long ago.

Wikipedia's definition of a roundabout is the same as mine funny enough

A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is slowed and flows almost continuously in one direction around a central island to several exits onto the various intersecting roads.

 

Highways Agency please see below;

This is how it works

I use this if I agree or if I disagree with a comment.

The police have put up a cordon in Eign Road outside the Brewers Arms. 

West Mercia Police release this statement

T'other day I was fishing down the Wye. I fish for barbel. It's a lovely fish. Beautifully designed, powerful, a joy to hook and one of the thickest species in the River. I've gazed into this creatures eyes in the hope of learning more about how it thinks and I can tell you all that the barbel is probably the most unintelligent fish I've ever stared at, and I've done my fair share of gazing into the eyes of fish. In fact, I'd urge you all not to repeat my mistake. For two hours after this encounter I couldn't think of anything. My mind was blank. I'd crossed over you see. I'd gone to far. I'd looked into the eyes of this creature and I'd come out of this experience a very different fisherman than I was before I landed the bloody thing and stupidly looked into its eyes and became entranced by its strange and bewitching hypnotic stare.

Anyway, after I'd recovered from this bloody barbel's influence, I rolled a ***, threw back a generous swig of beer and as I sat there muttering, 'I'd love to eat a few insects', I noticed an object on the side of the river bank. It was a wage packet and it was sealed. I'd found a wage packet. Some fool had actually lost his wages and I had found them.

Mind, then I was presented with a dillema. Had he lost his wages or had he decided he didn't want them and simply threw them away?. Being an honest sort, I knew that I should hand this wage packet to the Police for safe keeping. But, if, as I suspected he didn't want his wages and he'd chosen to throw them away, who was I to question his intentions.

It was at this point that I decided to change my life and create my own wealth. Convinced that this fool didn't want his wages and he would have become angry with me for handing them into the Police, I decided to have what was inside the envelope.

I stood up, had a quick peep to see whether or not I was being watched, I opened these wages that this fool clearly didn't want and following an examination of its contents, I screamed, 'The lazy basta.r.d! He had four days off'.Good Lord!

It was at this point I decided that from hereon, I'd forget about lost wage packets, betting on uncertain outcomes and writing begging letters and instead, I'd acquire a Metal Detector.

Im going to become a person who sweeps fields and other similar open spaces to find and appropriate precious and semi precious metals. Having given this a lot of thought Ive decided that I'll be damned if I spend days wandering about digging up old pram wheels and unwanted and discarded bottle tops. Im after Gold and Silver and there is a switch on my Metal Detector that excluded all these unwanted finds allowing me to only detect Gold and Silver.

They found the Staffordshire hoard didn't they? Well, Im convinced there is a Hereford hoard and Im going to find it. It's out there and anyone who says it isn't is a bloody fool and someone who ain't interested in becoming fabulously wealthy.

Mind, I ain't just going to tip up in some field, start sweeping, muttering, 'where in Gods name is it?' Im going to concentrate on areas where the bloody Saxons have stayed and perhaps buried their trinkets of gold and silver. I'll be bloody damned if I spend unnecessary hours looking for something that ain't there because the bloody Saxons had never been there in the first place.

No, Im going to follow the evidence. I'm going to sweep areas that are known to have had the Saxons there. If I get told by some passer bye, 'the Saxons were never here', then that's good enough for me and I'll go elsewhere. I mean, there'd be no point looking in an area where the Saxons had never been.

I want to know where the Saxons have been so that I can find the Herefordshire hoard. Mind, if some fool comes on here and responds to this codswallop and says, 'I know where the Saxons were staying and I know where they buried their hoard, Im going to be thinking, 'hi up! If he knows where it is, why hasn't he dug it up already'.

Hi Just wondering if anyone knows if there is CCTV at the junction from Edgar street where you join the roundabout ?

My husband was hit side on as he was going around the roundabout by a car trying to get onto the roundabout from Edgar street. The other drivers ins. co. are trying to go for 50/50 blame which mystifies us. Would be really helpful to be able to get some cctv .

regards

I've been blogging for a number of years now and, moreoften than not, I've hurled as much bile and phlegm at this Conservative Cabinet and its got me absolutely nowhere. For my part, my issue isn't with Conservatives. Not at all! My problem is with the dynamics that exist and have existed within the Council Cabinet during these past couple of years. These strange and often odd dynamics have, I believe, brought about monumental mistakes that we may never recover from and so I've come to my own personal conclusion about which way I should go.

As far as the Independent Councillors are concerned, particularly Councillor Glenda Vaughan Powell, I have the utmost respect for her and them. I couldn't hold Councillor Powell in any higher regard and oddly enough, it's her experiences before and after the Council Standards gathering that has convinced me which way I should jump from hereon. Because of her 'own' Independent colleagues, who Im sure are all good and kind people, diligently trying their best to serve their constituents, this lady was kicked about, mistreated and subjected to a completely unnecessary ordeal. All this was done in the name of Independent Councillors. My view was and is now, that if they, collectively can't stick together and support oneanother, how on earth are they ever going to gather together and sing from the same hymn sheet.

It's because of this chain of events and the fact that Im tired of ranting and raving about this unholy Council Cabinet, that I've decided to support the I.O.C in anyway that I can. That support will be blogging, banging their drum and doing what I can to help them into a position where they can get a hold on a lever of power and put an end to this madness that's been bequeathed to us by Councillor Jarvis and his unfortunate successor Councillor Johnson.

From hereon, Im going to do all I can to support the I.O.C. and I'd urge all my blogging colleagues to consider my opinion and hopefully agree with me that this is now the step to take. Putting it bluntly, because of the Glenda Powell situation and the hopelessness of our current predicament, I believe that the IOC are our only hope for some clear, commonsense and joined up thinking that hopefully will deliver us all from the chaos that's been poured all over our heads.

My very warmest regards to you all.

Decided to give this place a try last night and I have to be honest, we had a very very nice meal, staff were excellent, so going to order via JustEat online in the week for a treat 

Im given to understand that Councillor Glenda Powell has faced the might of the Councils Standards Board and been fully exonerated of fault and blame for the fiasco that was brought about by the Clerk to Belmont Parish Council and other serving Councillors. Im given to understand that this matter would have reached an amicable settlement sometime ago but, because of belligerence and sheer stupidity on the part of some, the chain of events and its accompanying cost to us the taxpayer could not be stopped and its only now that the entire stupidity has been brought to an end.
I've been told by my drinking buddy that the Board were particularly critical of those who took part in this political act of mean spiritedness and its they who've lost face rather than their target Councillor Powell.
If this is true, and I wouldn't have transmitted it if I'd not been certain, then Im pleased that this worrying burden is now lifted from Councillor Powell who hadn't done anything wrong in the first place.

Ten European lime trees will be planted in Hereford’s Edgar Street as part of a Highways Agency scheme.

The trees, which will be planted in the central reservation area on Thursday (21 November), are approximately six metres tall. Although the winter season is the best time for planting, the trees are in a dormant state, which is normal during this time of year.

The tree planting will mark the near completion of the Highways Agency’s scheme to improve the A49 Edgar Street at its junction with Newmarket Street.

The work has involved widening the A49 southbound approach to create a third lane in order to increase capacity for vehicles approaching the junction.

A pedestrian crossing to the north of the junction on the A49 southbound approach has also been relocated closer to the roundabout.

Kevin Harvey, Highways Agency Project Manager for the scheme, said:

“The additional lane will increase capacity and help reduce queues on the A49 southbound approach to the junction.

“Due to seasonal conditions, the trees that we’ll be planting are in a dormant state. However, they should begin to branch out and establish well in the spring.

“The scheme, including renewing the traffic lights, will be completed by next weekend, subject to weather conditions.”

The work is part of a national £317 million pinch point improvement programme, designed to boost local economies, reduce congestion and improve safety on the strategic road network in England. The programme is part of the UK Government’s growth initiative, outlined during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2011.

The pinch point programme helps boost local economies and drive economic growth by providing smaller scale improvements to ease congestion and make journey times more reliable for road users, including hauliers and commuters.

Full Details

Anyone got any updates on Pontrilas? I have everything crossed but nervous this is not gonna go well!

They seem to be running out of names up at Brockington Towers, if the recent announcement by Council Leader Tony Johnson is anything to go by.  He's just picked Cllr Patricia Morgan as his new Deputy, whose previous Cabinet responsibilities included the demanding portfolio of Disused Cemeteries.  In September, Cllr Morgan achieved local notoriety by treating Hereford Civic Society to an illustrated talk on rural bus shelters - even though she'd been invited along to discuss the future of Hereford city.

When one considers that in the last 30 months Herefordshire Council has had no fewer than three Leaders and as many Deputy Leaders, memories of The Titantic and deckchairs inevitably spring to mind.

So, casting aside the mantle of irony (I'm still smarting at being branded a mendacious oddity by the HT's Fiona Phillips), may I make a genuine proposal to Cllr Johnson which, if adopted, could greatly enhance his standing in the eyes of the county's electorate?

Councillor: your 8-person Cabinet is, to put it tactfully, somewhat 'under-powered' in terms of commercial expertise and intellectual capacity.  But that is not to say that such skills are not available to you in abundance from many of the councillors from the other parties represented on the Council.  So why not be bold?  Create a new Cabinet, a Cabinet of all the talents - a coalition if you like - for the benefit of the whole county?  There is masses of skills and talent out there in the Council Chamber: experts on childcare, economics, housing, inward investment, sustainable transport, planning.  But it is being woefully under-used at the moment.

This has nothing to do with the diminution of your 'power base' (that will be unaffected); but it has everything to do with representing the interests - free of the shackles of party dogma - of the whole community of Herefordshire.

German town abolishes traffic lights and codes. Accidents are now almost non-existent!

In this fascinating public experiment, a German town wanted to see what would happen to traffic flow if they got rid of street signs, lights and other restrictions.  The results are intuitive, but not what you would expect!  Everything got safer and faster.  Would this model hold true for other areas of infrastructure?  Drivers must give way to the left and not drive too fast.  That's the only rule.  Even the police love the new system, and best of all, people are safer on the road.  Drivers are much more aware and use eye contact and instincts.  People WANT to stop for other people and help things move more efficiently.

Full details here

Please feel free to distribute!

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/unscrutinised_machinations_permi#comment-45060

HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release issued 14 November 2013

The A49/A4103 Starting Gate junction in Hereford will undergo improvement work next week thanks to a Highways Agency scheme.

Work to widen the A4103 westbound approach will begin on Monday 18 November and subject to weather conditions, will last for four weeks.

The scheme will increase capacity at this busy junction by creating a two lane approach to the roundabout. Other work will include resurfacing, new road markings, realignment of the roundabout and its four arms and new signage installation.

The work will take place overnight from Mondays to Fridays between 10.15pm and 6.30am. In addition, some overnight work could also take place during the weekends and will be clearly signed with diversions in place.

The scheme is part of a £317 million pinch point improvement programme designed to boost local economies, reduce congestion and improve safety on the strategic road network in England. The programme is part of the UK Government’s growth initiative, outlined during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2011.

The pinch point programme provides smaller scale improvements that can deliver big returns by easing congestion and making journey times more reliable for road users, including hauliers and commuters to help boost local economies and drive economic growth.

Kevin Harvey, Pinch Point Project Manager, said:

“The A49 Starting Gate roundabout gets very busy so I am sure motorists will welcome this work, to increase capacity and improve traffic flow.

“While the work is ongoing, diversions will be in place and clearly signed.

“We advise drivers to check local conditions and leave extra time for their journeys if necessary.”

During the course of the work, traffic on the A4103 will be diverted to the A438 Newmarket Street junction via the A645 Aylestone Hill Road, joining the A49 northbound. As the work progresses, this diversion route will change and motorists using the A4103 will be directed to the A4110 and then the A438 White Cross Road to its junction with Victoria Street, where motorists can then continue to the A49 northbound. The same routes will apply for traffic travelling in the reverse direction.

As the scheme nears its end, further diversions will be in place and clearly signed.

More information about the work is available form the Highways Agency Information Line on telephone number 0300 123 5000 or by email to: ha_​info@​highways.​gsi.​gov.​uk.

The big problem we have here is that we speak English which is a dominant global language. So it's a lot easier and more beneficial for people to come here than it is Belgium, Italy, Portugal etc where they potentially have to learn a third native language

I read this in the HT yesterday, and whilst I agree that it is an unacceptable act, I cannot help thinking there is more to the story:

http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/10802731.Woman_pushed_and_racially_abused_in_Hereford_car_park/

Woman pushed and racially abused in Hereford car park

A WOMAN was pushed over and racially abused in a Hereford car park.

The woman was allegedly approached from behind by a man in Merton Meadow Car Park last Thursday (November 7) at 8.45am.

The man – described as being in his 20s, about 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build and wearing a Nike hoody and crash helmet – reportedly pushed the woman over and was racially abusive before he drove off on a motorbike, believed to be a black Suzuki.

PC Tessa Whaley said: “This was an unprovoked racial assault and we would like to speak to anyone who saw it happen, saw a motorcyclist of that description in the area or recognises the man from the description.â€

Call 101, quoting incident number 150S 061113, with information

Now, I may well be wrong, but my point is that the assault was more than likely neither racist nor unprovoked.  Speaking as a motorist, scooter rider, cyclist and pedestrian, is it just me that thinks that the lady in question may well have cut-up the motorcyclist or almost knocked him off, without noticing?

I am not condoning his actions, but having been on the receiving end of some pretty shocking behaviour by motorists, is it not possible that the man in question, lost his temper and decided to let her know what his thoughts on the matter were?

As I say, I am not condoning his actions, but I think  turning it into a racially provoked attack is a bit uncomfortable in my view.

Discuss.