Cold Ashby Blog/Open Forum
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An Alarming Increase in Traffic through Cold Ashby
by Ashby Rambler - 10:48 on 04 March 2017
The volume, speed and noise of traffic passing through our village has, over recent months, become totally unacceptable. Speed and weight limits are routinely ignored. Mobile phones are frequently in use by drivers in moving vehicles.
Footways, verges, street furniture and, yes, even our homes, have been damaged by oversized vehicles.
It should be no surprise to anybody that we are becoming increasingly upset by all this.
Frustratingly, there is little sign that a solution is forthcoming, despite the laudable efforts of the Parish Council and other concerned individuals in our village.
Our problems are a result, it appears, of poor planning by Highways England and cuts in funding for the so-called ‘improvements’ at Junction 19 near Catthorpe where the M1, M6 and A14 meet.
Before funding was restricted, a Junction was to be constructed which would have enabled access from the northbound M1 to the eastbound A14. The present junction, though now officially ‘completed’, has no such provision. Hence, Crick, West Haddon and Cold Ashby have found themselves on an unofficial ‘Trunk Route’.
Crick and West Haddon are on an official A road (A428) and both these villages have, rightly, been given a bypass - essential for them but an added problem for Cold Ashby. Drivers, addicted to Satellite Navigation and unable to speed around and avoid Ashby as they can Crick and West Haddon, suddenly find themselves in the middle of an actual village where people live, walk, and park outside their own properties in their own village street.
This situation will obviously get even worse with the expansion of developments in and around DIRFT and Daventry.
Did nobody responsible predict this?
Frankly, from where the Rambler is sitting, it looks as though nobody outside Cold Ashby wishes to accept responsibility!
The police claim to be underfunded, understaffed and are not particularly interested.
Northants Highways always seem to put the unrestricted movement of traffic before the health and wellbeing of villagers – they repeatedly suggest parking restrictions in our village street as a solution, thus encouraging more and faster traffic.
Highways England don’t seem to have us on their radar either or this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Is there anyone out there who is willing to help?
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I guess the old adage applies here:
'If you want the job done properly ...then do it yourself!'