island safety

This is what's left of a traffic island in Whiteladies road. Something has wiped out both the illuminated island signs, and the central lamp post

That lamp is bent at quite an angle. Whatever went into the island was big and fast. Hopefully nobody was standing in the island, waiting for a safe moment to cross the road, when it happened, as if they were they'd be as dead as a stock-exchange quoted bank.


This shows a flaw in the traffic island design. It provides somewhere to stand, but doesn't interrupt traffic flow. You have to wait for a gap and rush across -if you can. And clearly waiting for a gap isn't safe either. Traffic islands just don't work.

To stop people making a mistake attempt to use it, the van DE54SKN above, the car WU54YFH below --


--and a Peugeot 206 WV51EHT further up the hill, all try and improve safety on Whiteladies Road, by discouraging anyone from attempting to use the islands.

This is a brave and selfless act, done at the risk of getting a ticket for parking on the yellow lines, done by some of our local drivers who are clearly aware of the dangers of the islands and doing their best protect the lives of pedestrians.