Blog

Why must we pay for the after-effects of policy cock-ups ….. for ever? Suppressing legitimate complaints is just a part of the ratchet of inertia.

If you know the NE England you will know Penshaw Monument, built in 1844, a small Doric temple visible for miles around, and a Folly. Google it! This Folly doesn’t inconvenience anyone.

 Visit John Dobson Street in Newcastle today and you will see an £18m Folly – a new segregated cycle lane where you will more likely see skateboarders than cyclists – and this inconveniences everyone traveling by car, bus, van or lorry in the heart of Newcastle.

Like Penshaw Monument it will be there in 2044 and beyond

 This is the legacy bequeathed to future generations by a small highly egocentric cycling lobby that believes that what makes sense for them should make sense for everyone else.

I may have helped to head off a similar folly in the heart of Gosforth Newcastle – the City Council appears to have dropped its insane idea of cycle lanes and red lines there. The national folly remains.

 I shall explore how it comes about that once the State starts to construct a folly it is well nigh impossible to stop it. I will give you two quite different examples, polluted urban cycle lanes and the closing of over 100 special schools, some very good ones. There another group of highly egocentric political activists high-jacked the State. Know the problem, find the solution.

TO BE CONTINUED Meanwhile read the last two posts on the Cycling Scandal