August 5th, 2010
Road Protesting in Dorset
A local Dorset villager has taken increased heavy traffic matters into his own hands, literally.
77 year old local man Tony Fuller from Chideock in Dorset, is single handedly putting a stop to the articulated trucks and lorries that thunder through his village.
Tony and a group of local residents have come together to campaign for a bypass that was rejected back in 1990. The group take stand at a newly placed pedestrian crossing in the village where they take it in turns to press the pedestrian button, halting traffic, so they can walk across the road displaying their banners for “Re-Route large Lorries”.
The protesting button pressing has taken up to 45 minutes causing up to 7 miles of tailbacks. The small inconvenience of delayed traffic is no comparrision to the 24/7 inconvenience that the villagers experience on a daily basis. The huge trucks hammer down the A35 road through Chideock causing noise, pollution and shaking the houses to their foundations.
A major concern of the traffic is for the villagers safety. The pedestrian crossing is a very recent addition to the village and there are no barriers and very little pavement. Tony is calling for the re-instatement of the bypass project and for all lorries over 7.5 tonnes to be re-routed using the A303.
The work Tony and the local residents are doing has come under fire and is met with mixed feelings. The traffic delays and disruption to the flow of traffic has been ongoing and the group have vowed to continue their stand until something is done.
There are many who are against the plans for new roads to be made and further disruption of the countryside but in a case liek this a new road or the re-routing of heavy traffic should be considered to preserve the Dorset villages.