Saturday, January 14, 2012
Hammersmith flyover opens for VIP's.
Yesterday saw the reopening of the Hammersmith flyover in London. It was reopened with only one lane in each direction, beforehand it had two lanes running each way. But now it has one VIP lane each way. Oh yes, this is a dedicated Very Important Person lane, dictated by a 6' 6" (2 metre) width limit. This width restriction is being enforced by Police Officers who will force coaches and lorries into a lay-by to receive penalties.
This now means that coach passengers will be treated like second class citizens and sent around Hammersmith Broadway whist car drivers are given the VIP treatment and allowed to speed over the flyover. The structural repair works, which TfL now expects to take around four months to complete, will focus on strengthening six of the 16 spans of the structure to ensure that they can carry full traffic loading by the 2012 Games.
If you want an expert to explain What’s Wrong With The Hammersmith Flyover? , then by reading Andrew Foster's article you will understand.
What I can tell you is that forget the green credentials of coach passengers, our politicians just view them as second class citizens who can wait whilst the affluent car drivers speed past. We have a two class society here. The VIP car driving class speeding along in all lanes of the motorway at 70 mph, along a lane at the end of the M4 which used to be a dedicated bus lane and finally over a VIP flyover avoiding the congestion around Hammersmith Broadway. This compares to the coach passenger whose coach is NOT allowed to travel in the third lane of the motorway and has it's speed limited from the mandatory 70 mph down to 62 mph. The old M4 bus lane has gone so it's progress is delayed before enduring further congestion around Hammersmith whilst the car drivers speed over the flyover into Central London.
So much for the green credentials of using public transport as you travel along with the League of Nations to London Victoria Coach Station.
Yesterday saw the reopening of the Hammersmith flyover in London. It was reopened with only one lane in each direction, beforehand it had two lanes running each way. But now it has one VIP lane each way. Oh yes, this is a dedicated Very Important Person lane, dictated by a 6' 6" (2 metre) width limit. This width restriction is being enforced by Police Officers who will force coaches and lorries into a lay-by to receive penalties.
This now means that coach passengers will be treated like second class citizens and sent around Hammersmith Broadway whist car drivers are given the VIP treatment and allowed to speed over the flyover. The structural repair works, which TfL now expects to take around four months to complete, will focus on strengthening six of the 16 spans of the structure to ensure that they can carry full traffic loading by the 2012 Games.
If you want an expert to explain What’s Wrong With The Hammersmith Flyover? , then by reading Andrew Foster's article you will understand.
What I can tell you is that forget the green credentials of coach passengers, our politicians just view them as second class citizens who can wait whilst the affluent car drivers speed past. We have a two class society here. The VIP car driving class speeding along in all lanes of the motorway at 70 mph, along a lane at the end of the M4 which used to be a dedicated bus lane and finally over a VIP flyover avoiding the congestion around Hammersmith Broadway. This compares to the coach passenger whose coach is NOT allowed to travel in the third lane of the motorway and has it's speed limited from the mandatory 70 mph down to 62 mph. The old M4 bus lane has gone so it's progress is delayed before enduring further congestion around Hammersmith whilst the car drivers speed over the flyover into Central London.
So much for the green credentials of using public transport as you travel along with the League of Nations to London Victoria Coach Station.
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