Boris was on ‘civic dignitary’ duty today performing the opening ceremony for London’s newest £5million investment. A new museum, or arts centre, perhaps? Something for the Olympics, maybe?
No. Today, Bozza opened a pedestrian crossing.
Modelled on the famous (and chaotic) Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, the Mayor opened the Oxford Circus road crossing where pedestrians now get 30 seconds to cross Oxford or Regent Street in any direction whilst all the traffic is stopped.
The ‘Pedestrian Scramble” (that is, alarmingly, its official name, not some nickname awarded it by people who don’t know what is going on) is aimed at reducing pedestrian congestion at this busy junction. We at Boriswatch Towers are slightly concerned about this new crossing, considering the Mayor’s endorsement was “We are very confident that this will work well – once people have got the hang of it.” (Reading between the lines, ‘not getting the hang of it’ sounds rather like being ‘run over by a bus’, which would be something of a concern.)
A local police community support officer also had their doubts. “…It’s based on the assumption that everyone’s going to act intelligently, which is quite an assumption to make.” Especially in the centre of London, presumably.
‘not getting the hang of it’ sounds rather like being ‘run over by a bus’,
Frankly .. goodbye to them. Darwin theory at work – too many times have pedestrians ambled in front of traffic when they shouldn’t do (and that includes kids) – don’t play on the road, keep yourself safe used to be the motto. Nowadays it’s easier to get run over and see the hapless driver in court for the pedestrians’ stupidity.