WHEN the Tennyson Drive estate was built in the grounds of Davenham House, some 12-15 years ago, I was frequently approached by various new householders and asked to do something about the part of Cockshot Road which crosses Link Common.
This road is the direct route for people from that part of Malvern to reach the train station, Link shops and schools and was, and still is, quite heavily used by commuters (some on wheels), families, often with pushchairs, schoolchildren and shoppers, often with trolleys. There is no footway and the narrow road has a blind spot at the brow of the hill which is extremely dangerous to all road users, both motorised and not, as many vehicles travel quite fast over this stretch.
In response to these representations, I tried hard to get the road closed to through traffic or at least speed limited but received little support. The County Council would only consider cutting into the side of the Common to make a footway and of course, the Conservators, who manage the Common, wouldn't hear of that!
However, nothing stays the same for ever and the Conservators have recently provided an easy access route up the hill for wheelchairs and the less active. They are now, in consultation with the County Council Halcrow unit, looking to provide cycle and footpaths over the Link Common where there are signs of routes being well used already. They are also considering making a track which runs very close to Cockshot Road, first on the west side and, after crossing over, on the east side, to accommodate cyclists and walkers.
It seems to me that this would be a great waste of public money when it would be quite simple to close the road to through traffic by placing a couple of bollards at a suitable point and a notice each end, allowing traffic to access the two Conservators' car parks but not drive straight across. The route for cars would not be much longer, using Graham Road.
I wonder if the car is still king, or whether my suggestion will receive more support this time round?
COUN PAT RAVEN, Link Ward & Nominated Conservator, Brookfield, Malvern Link.
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