Kingsway Villagers

Following many recent remarks, complaints and questions about the Naas Lane to Woodvale link road, I recently received a copy of a letter written by a local resident (and previous Residents Association Committee member) and sent to Robert Hitchins, along with the reply – which came from Andy Smith (QUVL):

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing regarding the Naas Lane entrance/exit road for Kingsway. It is currently blocked off at both ends by concrete barriers, silt and rubble to prevent cars from using the road. At several residents’ association meetings QUVL have said that when they have been in talks with Robert Hitchins about the road, that it is due to be opened in September 2011. This date has been and gone, yet the road is more blocked than ever! However, my complaint is more about pedestrian access to this road. As you may be aware, there are several businesses on this small stretch of road (a nursery, a community centre etc.) and I take my 2 year old toddler to the BarBar Nursery there. It is getting increasingly more difficult to get to the nursery, as there is so much rubble to climb over or around, not to mention all the mud and deep puddles forming either sides of the barriers which make it impossible to walk through or push a buggy over. It’s getting very dangerous to help my toddler around/over all these blocks and I’m deeply unhappy about it. As users of the businesses situated on that stretch of road, we have the right to expect a safe passage to walk to the said businesses.

Please kindly either open the road, or at least organise a safe and clear walkway from the Kingsway roundabout end of Naas Lane through to the nursery. It is currently an accident and/or lawsuit waiting to happen.

Please also kindly respond to my e-mail with confirmation of its receipt, and what Robert Hitchins intend to do about the problem.

Thanks and regards,
Kimberley

Dear Kimberley,

Thank you for your email regarding the road between Naas Lane and Woodvale.

On behalf of QUVL we continue to work with County Highways to prepare this road for adoption. We have recently made great progress with the City Council in agreeing in principle the adoption of the balancing pond which drains the area around this road.

Our next step is to obtain adoption of the drainage network, following which Highways will agree to adopt the road once final surfacing and other remedial works have been completed.

We have now engaged a contractor to complete the surfacing of this road and the works are programmed for the first quarter of 2012.

In the meantime, we are reviewing the use of the stone bund at the North end of the road to prevent traffic accessing this road, and will shortly be replacing these with an alternative measure, which will ensure that the footway width is left clear. We have this year encountered issues with travellers gaining access to the area around the balancing pond, and the current measures enable this risk to be minimised, to the benefit of ourselves and local residents and businesses.

I hope the above provides a useful update and assure you of our best attention.

Regards
Andrew Smith

How much worse does Thatcham Avenue have to get before it ruins your car?

Pre-Christmas there were gangs of men supposedly I presume, raising the ironworks and filling in any holes, but to me it was left in such a bad state, if they have been paid for their efforts then whoever pays them was robbed; it is worse now than before they started.

It’s a disgrace and surely doesn’t do the village any favours!

Hopefully you have all received a travel plan questionnaire by now.  If not please go to www.rslht.co.uk and click on the Kingsway Residents link to complete a questionnaire or contact us on 07530-527514 for a paper copy. Alternatively you can pick one up from Badhams Pharmacy which is also a drop off point.

It is really important for you all to try and improve your links to the outside world!  This could be improved cycle/walking routes, more frequent buses (further into Kingsway), links to trains etc.  It gives you the opportunity to voice your opinion on the subject in order for change to happen. We need a good return from you to make an impact though.

Quedgeley Urban Village Ltd (the developers) and Gloucester County Council are sponsoring this initiative.  It will become an annual event so we will have to ask the same questions again to continue the sustainable travel initiative.

On behalf of RSL Highways and Transportation.

Yet again* I have received another £90 fine for parking on faded double lines that – I believe – are not legal!

After contacting them and a discussion with Andy at QUVL, there is still a lot of confusion over the legality of these lines on a private street.

According to GCC, they have not adopted the roads of Kingsway as yet, but according to the CPS operative who ticketed me today, someone has requested them to patrol Kingsway and issue tickets & that certain person has paid for the services of CPS.

The parking issue is a nightmare for all concerned in Kingsway, so QUVL needs to step up and get this sorted out once for all over the yellow lines fiasco with CPS in Bristol and make it clear to all where we can and cannot park in Kingsway’s streets!

*(Editors Note: See Also: Parking Fines & Yellow Lines – Valley Gardens)

I was shocked to come home today and find that my vehicle that is parked on the confusing faded yellow lines at the top of Valley Gardens had a ticket on the windscreen from CPS services for £90; they were responsible for the clamping issues in Kingsway before!

QUVL really need to sort this out for all residents of Kingsway once and for all, as there is a lot of confusion over parking zones, yellow lines & so called parking permits.

How can they start to enforce parking restrictions when correct signage is not displayed?

The old red “permit holder only” parking signs are still on lamposts in Valley Gardens, but are not enforceable according to QUVL.

Remember how nice the roundabout used to be at the A38 entrance to Kingsway?
(Editors Note: See website header picture)
Then one day, for reasons that have already been explained here, the trees and stones were taken away!

With the prospect of the road being opened (effectively an extension of Woodvale) in the near future (fingers crossed – didn’t I read it should be open “soon”?), wouldn’t it be nice to have the roundabout put back to its former glory as a sign that people were entering the Kingsway Development?

Of course things like that cost money, but as I drive round Gloucester, I see roundabouts “sponsored” by various companies. Now that we’ve got a new Tesco’s store on Kingsway, might they be able to sponsor the re-design or reinstatement of the roundabout? Or perhaps Marston’s, who are soon to open the new Barn Owl pub, might like to sponsor it? Or perhaps it could be sponsored by the new SevernFM Radio Station (with a sign there giving details of how to listen to the new station)?

The possibilities seem to be quite a few.

We could always have a whip-round amongst the residents – but then there’s the matter of maintaining the roundabout, which is why I think a local company might like to sponsor it. I can’t imagine it would cost that much to send someone round to mow the grass on a small roundabout once in a while, or even clip the trees now and again.

Dare I even suggest Asda as sponsor? I just think it would be nice to have something more pleasant to the eye than the bare space we’ve got now.