Traffic marshals will not make sports centre roads safe

Published: 12 May, 2011

• IN correspondence about the new access proposed for the Talacre sports centre should the development proceed (Accessible? May 5) the situation that exists during construction at the junction of Prince of Wales Road with the new access road to the sports centre has not been mentioned.

There will be two entrances within a few metres of the bridge on Prince of Wales Road where two buses lost their top decks in the last five years. 

To start with, construction traffic will use a new entrance 2.7 metres from the bridge, with sports centre users continuing to use the existing road which is some 8 metres away. 

Some months later, the role of each road will switch with drivers to and from the sports centre using the one near the bridge and construction traffic using the present entrance. 

Both roads will have two marshals but that is hardly going to make this mess of traffic safe at this highly vulnerable area.

YASMIN ALLEN, Malden Road, NW5

Monstrosity

• IN his letter about the of the sports centre (Accessible? May 5) Peter Cuming talks about the situation of a child arriving or being collected. 

These are some of the facts and they simply don’t add up:From about 3pm onwards about a vehicle a minute arrives at the sports centre. Many contain young or disabled users.

The only places where vehicles can wait are in a single bay only available for delivery vehicles up to 2pm and buses thereafter. Also three disabled bays available to any blue-badged vehicles including the visitors or owners of the 55 flats.

Arriving at the sports centre entrance, a car will find a marshal whose job, according to the brief in the legal agreement, includes to ensure that no parking/waiting activity occurs within the permanent access way outside of the designated blue badge holder parking bays (drivers waiting for people leaving the leisure centre) and that servicing/delivery activity is undertaken from the lay-by provided adjacent to the leisure centre entrance.

Of course, we don’t know the exact figures since no survey has been done since 2006 but the scheme has to be fit to cope with whatever is needed to protect the public amenity.

I can’t believe our council will subject us to this seven-storey monstrosity which is too big for the site with all its dangerous inconveniences and people will buy flats which are subjected to passing trains every 10 minutes.

SYLVIA McGINNIS, Grafton Road, NW5