'New posts in Rushmere Road, Northampton, more like a slalom course - has anyone any common sense?'

Is there anyone among the elected local councillors of our beleaguered town with an ounce of common sense?

They erect a slalom course down a road that is already narrower than it ought to be for the traffic it carries. I refer to the newly erected posts down one side of Rushmere Road. Exactly how many accidents have occurred involving cyclists and vehicles that might warrant such an intrusive intervention?

It surely doesn’t take much to realise the additional hazards that such obstructions create – no room for one cyclist to overtake another; no escaping the inevitable pot holes that will occur; no means of cleaning the gutter of fallen leaves thus making it even more dangerous for cyclists. It seems that the only benefit might be to provide an excellent zig-zag course for owners of agility dogs to train.

Then they introduce even more danger on our already overcrowded roads by approving the use of electric scooters, which is done, we are asked to believe, to reduce the town’s carbon footprint!

I know a better and cheaper way – get people to walk!

My wife and I were fortunate enough to visit California last year and saw these dangerous devices in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

We quickly became aware that these devices were not to be overlooked or ignored, both in terms of the speed of approach (mainly by youngsters) on the footways and in the roads where they presented a real danger, not only to themselves, but also to other road users. Additionally, they appeared to have been abandoned all over the place strewn on their sides all over the pavements or standing up wherever the hirer chose to abandon them.

Already I have seen deliberate and illegal mis-use of these dangerous devices, carrying passengers as they proceed at dangerous pace along the footways.

Let’s get rid of them now. Other towns have seen the folly of them and have rapidly abandoned them. Let’s do the same before someone inevitably gets seriously injured or killed.

I seem to recall that, at the beginning of COVID, we were all being encouraged to exercise more by walking. What happened to change that? As it seems that the large majority of users are youngsters and students; wouldn’t it be great to get them to abandon their computers and phones and get back to some safe fresh air activities?

Geoff Bultitude

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