Much of local politics is about getting things done for local people. For a number of months myself and the Labour councillor for St Johns ward- Neill Macdonald have been working with local residents to try and get a zebra crossing placed on two busy roads in Ipswich.
The crossings would be close to Barclay's Bank on both Rushmere Road and Woodbridge Road. A crossing like this has been promised for a number of years and it looked like it would go ahead in 2006. But due to the Tory run County Council suddenly asking for an extra £16,000 the Tory run Borough Council decided to remove the Livability Fund contribution to the crossing.
Most amazingly, two of the Tories who voted to remove this contribution are Judy Terry who represents Rushmere and John Carnall who represents St Johns.
It also seems strange that two councils, both run by the Conservatives can't seem to work together- if anything they seem determined not to agree on anything as shown again recently with the County's proposed plans for a new Fire Station.
Back to the Zebra Crossing, thanks to a residents petition and pressure from myself and Neill (with support from our local MP- Chris Mole) it has been placed on the list of planned works for 2007/08. we should get a clearer idea in April if the work is to go ahead..
What was so great about these crossings is that they would have helped so many of the community, from parents and children crossing these busy roads before and after school- the crossing is close to St Johns, Sidegate and St Marys Primary schools and is also used by pupils of Northgate, Copleston and St Albans as well as a number of playschools. It also helps keep the local shops in Woodbridge Road in use with many members of the community needing to cross these roads to get to these much used shops, including a number of our senior citizens who live in Morecombe Court on Roundwood Road.
I am determined to keep working on this campaign and hope we get the desired outcome in April.
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