Jump to content

twowheelsgood

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,658

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    125

 Content Type 

Everything posted by twowheelsgood

  1. twowheelsgood
    Having waited for a ridiculous time on my bike at the equally ridiculous Link Rd/Commercial Rd lights this morning, I was reminded that there's no reason why traffic lights could not have been turned off/resequenced throughout the City - last year's lockdown would have been the perfect time to do it and give people time to get used to it. But, yet again, the Council seem to be paralysed in the headlights, unable to do anything. Cllr Harrington really needs to do something, anything, and now.
  2. twowheelsgood
    Well, a referendum was never going to happen, no matter who was promising it. The present ruling group have delivered very little of what was promised two years ago, yet another disappointment. I know they're up against entrenched and belligerent officers, and an autonomous BBLP, but ultimately that should be firmly dealt with.
  3. twowheelsgood
    Yes, look at the Canary Bridge and the Greenway - I did report the graffiti there for a while but no one took any notice - ward councillors make it clear BBLP are autonomous and the Council simply have no say or control of what they do (or don't) do. There were lots of requests for cctv at the time the Canary Bridge was being designed, but they were disregarded. It's death by a thousand cuts for the County, I don't see how we can ever pull it back.
  4. twowheelsgood
    Resurfacing roads that barely see any traffic is all well and good, but what about the main infrastructure, especially in the City, which is in a terrible state and taking 000's of vehicles every day? Not to mention the hazards it presents to cyclists. It seems a skewed process to me.
  5. twowheelsgood
    Ah, what was grandly promoted as a canal basin in the heady days of ESG low traffic boulevards and civic buildings. Heaven forfend the Council should clearly identify land in their reports.
  6. twowheelsgood
    Nah, seemingly easier to abandon it and let the weeds and rubbish welcome visitors.
  7. twowheelsgood
    800m2?! That's massive - £2m upwards. It isn't going to happen unless it was legally tied down at the original permission stage.
  8. twowheelsgood
    I'm sure they will all say they'll sort it out in exchange for a vote - following through will be another matter altogether.
  9. twowheelsgood
    Take it down and rebuild it on a better site?
  10. twowheelsgood
    Seven candidates pitching for this - given the 2019 election garnered less than 1000 votes, they'll be spread very thin this time. Newton_Farm_Ward_SPN.docx.pdf
  11. twowheelsgood
    I quickly gave up on YH and had completely forgotten about it - provocative click bait and little of substance.
  12. twowheelsgood
    Publication of statement as to persons nominated is this Friday, 9 April, not later than 4pm. It can be interesting to see who is nominating and supporting.
  13. twowheelsgood
    In Central Ward all we are voting for is a Police Commissioner and I'm certainly not risking my health to go and tick that box. If ever there was a waste of time and money, etc. I have to agree regarding the present Council (and their subservient relationship BBLP) - I had great hopes two years ago, but they have failed to deliver. Here we have a ruling party elected on a green travel and transport manifesto, with walking and cycling prominent in that and yet a high profile cycling facility in St Owens Street, that has been over 20 years in the making, instigated and driven by a clear community desire, has been quietly abandoned. As to BBLP - I am told by a Councillor that they have the Council ‘held over a barrel’.
  14. twowheelsgood
    Beat me to it!!
  15. twowheelsgood
    That's the nub isn't it - no one is in charge, at least from the Client side, charged with 'best use' of our money. Plenty of chiefs mind you, with their fancy job titles, it's just that they're not very good at their £100k pa jobs, they don't care, they get paid anyway, no one will sack them, jobs a good 'un for them. We're two years into the present Council's incumbency and still no sign of the election pledge to review BBLP's contract - if ever there was a reason, this must be it.
  16. twowheelsgood
    I've been told today that this has once again been abandoned as the costs are 'way beyond' the £300k allocation. Why has the cost risen £70k+ in 2 years when nothing has happened, if anything the specification has been reduced? After 21 years of 'community engagement', meetings, survey, more meetings, designs, outsourced pretty (unrealistic) drawings from Latvia, it's all come to nothing. Again. Under a Green Council committed to green travel with cycling at the top of it. Appalling.
  17. twowheelsgood
    Perhaps we'll get an absurdly over engineered, inappropriate and expensive concrete wall like this £2.6m one at Fownhope, in the middle of an AONB. I've already been told 'lessons will be learned' from this fiasco, but they never are and certainly never will be whilst the tail is wagging the dog.
  18. twowheelsgood
    I had a look from the Mordiford side yesterday - they're taking it to the wire it seems ... I've asked several Green/Independent Councillors what is happening about the review of the BBLP contract, as pledged in their election manifesto - none have replied.
  19. twowheelsgood
    To be fair, that does say they were one of three tenders. They're working at the Shire Hall (again!) and I did see them working at the traveller site on Watery Lane the other day. They were at the end of a long line of sub-contracts for Blueschool House, doing the actual work. They did of course do the most recent multi-million pound refurbishment of the Blackfriars St uni. There may be more.
  20. twowheelsgood
    That seems like a huge portfolio! What progress is being made on the election pledge to review the Balfour Beatty Living Places contract? In the light of the Link Road overspend and the ongoing debacle that is the Fownhope repair, the need has never been more urgent. The contract claims to offer 'value for money, facilitated by process improvement and transparency through open book accounting' - what is this 'open book' and who is independently monitoring it? When BBLP are a private business with profit from ratepayers going to shareholders, how is this better value than direct labour? Why is filling the same pothole week after week after week value for money rather than doing it once properly? When will we get an explanation of what went so drastically wrong with the Blueschool House project? Who has been brought to account for a 100% overspend? Please don't say 'lessons have been learned!". Why is it that the same local builder seems to be working more or less permanently on Council projects - what is the tendering procedure? What is the the Council’s 'new project management system' used on Marlbrook school?
  21. twowheelsgood
    Perhaps they're working to the now established 'Fownhope' method - expect a very large bill and an open ended timetable to finish the work.
  22. twowheelsgood
    Define ‘sustainable’ when no mention of what has been done to merit this. The approved budget was £5.17m - why is it now £6m, when it is 'on budget’? MSC are a national group and the Cardiff office is hardly local. C J Bayliss, for instance, are a local company, MSC are not. I've no issue with what's been done (except it is horrendously ugly) but the Council press releases need to be clearer and not include buzz words and claims without them standing up to scrutiny.
  23. twowheelsgood
    Wow, look at those rent and rates and service charges! How does anyone make a living in retail? £145k for the Chimi unit. Rates alone on the Burton/Dorothy Perkins unit £113k. Post Covid, there has to be a fundamental review of business rates surely.
  24. twowheelsgood
    I have the drawings for the Link Road - there were never separate cycles lanes, so they were not removed. They always showed a shared footway/cycleway along the north side. It was never going to work.
  25. twowheelsgood
    Presumably the Starting Gate work was done by Highways Agency as it's the A49T. Local work, BBLP can't be bothered, they freely admit they work on a reactive basis - until there is a volume of complaints, they'll ignore it.
×
×
  • Create New...