So where would you position a lamppost? Right in the middle of the pavement, obviously, if you’re Skanska working in Purley
There have been plentiful and regular complaints about the quality of workmanship and service from some of the council’s out-sourced contractors, whether it be the shabby My Croydon App mishap, the trail of rubbish left after the bin men have been, or the poor quality of road repairs.
The loss of the old-style light stands, replaced by the supposedly modern and efficient but unappealing street lights, the hideous stumps left for months at a time after de-commissioning, and the glacially slow progress of the project have all been raised repeatedly by Inside Croydon‘s loyal reader.
Outages of street lighting, leaving entire neighbourhoods in pitch darkness through long winter nights, sometimes caused by the replacement works, have been a cause of anxiety.
But there’s surely not been examples of greater stupidity allied with incompetence than what has been happening along the pedestrian walkways of Brancaster Lane in Purley, where Skanska’s workmen have opted to position the new street light posts bang in the centre of the pavement.
“If you walk in a straight line, you will bump into the odd one,” writes Inside Croydon’s loyal reader. “They are now a hazard and inconvenience for mums with their kids in pushchairs, and I’m not sure how anyone in a wheelchair might manage to negotiate them without having to go into the road.
“There seems to be no reason for not following the line of the existing posts, or putting them against the property edge.
“I spoke to Skanska. They said the positioning ‘met regulations’.”
So that’s alright then…
- Inside Croydon: Named among best regional media campaigns, 2014.
- Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 729,297 page views in 2014.
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com