Leader: Traffic truce a victory for common sense

Published 21 Apr 2011 09:30 1 Comment

IT LASTED a shorter time than the average jam caused by the Shinfield Road traffic lights lottery.

But the threat to Reading's new town centre traffic scheme posed by the cabbies' decision to stage an hour long go slow - over the lack of taxi rank capacity - brought rapid results.

In just 20 minutes pavement peace talks broke out and a truce was declared.

Perhaps it was the adoption of a style of protest popular with lorry and taxi drivers in France, capable of bringing entire motorway networks grinding to a halt, which did the trick.

Maybe it was just the perplexed expressions of delivery drivers striving to go about their business and discovering their lives had suddenly become much more complicated overnight, or simply the sight of so much top brass wearing out shoe leather to get a close-up view of their handiwork.

Whatever the reason, how laudable that the powers that be were so willing to take a step backwards in what many are convinced is a war against anyone for whom motorised transport is a chosen method for getting around.

If this was a victory for common sense then let's have plenty more of it.

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  Huffmum
  Unregistered User
  Jul 14, 08:39
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  I understand that the extra spaces the taxi drivers got were Disabled parking Bays. While I am delighted that the Taxi drivers have more space it should not be at the expense of the disabled drivers many of whome can no longer access vital services in Friar street.
  
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