Pedestrian Crossings

During the years we lived in Bristol the streets were gradually filled with road-markings, traffic-calming measures and pedestrian crossings. Gradually the message became clear: pedestrians had rights that should be respected, revered even.

What a contrast when we arrived in Crediton! Here, many streets have no pavements at all; others have a pavement down one side only, and even that pavement is liable to sudden termination just at the moment when a pedestrian's life is at its most exciting - road junctions, sharp bends, and so on.

Yes, I think the local authorities are to be congratulated: there are so few obstacles to impede the natural progress of motor vehicles, and drivers' freedom to command the roads and intimidate pedestrians remains virtually unfettered.

I love to cruise down the high street and watch pedestrians leaping desperately across the last eight feet to safety as I bear down on them, perhaps just giving them a quick splash from the puddles that form gratifyingly on rainy days. And when I'm in the mood, I can't tell you what a kick I get out of pausing to wave a cowering old lady across my path in a most gracious and condescending manner.

Yes, it strikes me that the councillors and officials must be a brave lot. How easy and cowardly it would have been to acknowledge that the high street is well-used by shoppers who often need to get from one side to the other; how easy it would then have been to decide to place a couple of pedestrian crossings at strategic points - say outside the Record Shop and Adams - and to make the high street simple and safe for pedestrians and sheer frustration for drivers. That's what they have done in just about every other town or city I have ever been to. But no, our local councillors resisted those easy options, and even provided a bit of entertainment for drivers by narrowing the road at a couple of points to tempt pedestrians into the paths of cars. I really can't say how impressed I've been.

Incidentally, someone told me that my irony would be lost on Crediton.