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Highways Agency lifts roadworks to ease Bank Holiday getaway for
North West drivers
TO help North
West drivers make smoother and more reliable journeys over the
August Bank Holiday weekend, the Highways Agency has completed or
suspended almost two-thirds of all major roadworks on England's
motorways and major A roads.
As part of the Highways Agency's commitment to ease congestion and
help drivers make their journeys more safely and reliably, a total
of 18 sets of roadworks will be completed and a further 49 will be
suspended between 6am on Friday 22 August and midnight on Monday 25
August 2008. In addition, work on schemes at 33 sites will not
start until after the bank holiday, but roadworks at 38 locations
will remain in place for the safety of drivers and their passengers.
Drivers are also reminded that the M1 between J32 and J35 will be
fully closed at midnight on Saturday 23 August 2008and is expected
to remain closed for most of Sunday 24 August 2008, during work to
demolish the redundant Tinsley cooling towers. A clearly
signed diversion route will be in place.
Derek Turner, Highways Agency Network Operations Director said:-
"There will be a lot of people taking advantage of the late
August Bank Holiday so we expect the roads to the main holiday
centre, ports and airports will be busy. The Highways Agency
is doing everything it can to help drivers with their journeys - we
have removed as many roadworks as possible and we also provide a
number of information services that will help drivers.
I urge drivers to plan their journeys using the travel information
available on our website, the Agency's Traffic Radio and telephone
information services - as well as by listening to local radio
traffic bulletins. Drivers should also check their vehicle's
tyres, oil, water and fuel before setting out and allow extra time
to plan for breaks and complete their journey safely."
The Highways Agency is also advising people to plan their journey in
advance in order to avoid the worst of the summer queues.
Before setting off, drivers can help prepare for their journey by
tuning into the Highways Agency's Traffic Radio, available on DAB
digital radio and at
www.trafficradio.org.uk, or by
visiting our website at
www.highways.gov.uk or by
calling the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30.
For those heading towards the South West, the Highways Agency has
produced a leaflet advising drivers of the busiest times and places
in the region including:-
- A303 westbound at Stonehenge between 1pm and 5pm on Saturdays and
Sundays;
- M5 southbound between junctions 15 and 21 on Fridays between 11am
and 7pm and Saturdays between 7am and 3pm;
- M5 near Exeter between junctions 29 and 30 on Saturdays between
8am and 3pm
Produced in association with South West Tourism, the leaflet is
available
online or by calling the
Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30.
Highways Agency Traffic Officers will continue to patrol the
motorways 24 hours a day throughout the weekend to deal with
incidents and clear them as quickly as possible. They will be
supported by our contractors' Incident Support Units and operators
in our seven regional control centres who will be monitoring the
network to help keep traffic moving.
The Highways Agency, working with the Shiny Side Up partnership, is
placing more than 600 bike safety awareness signs at safety
hot-spots on trunk roads in preparation for the August 2008 Bank
Holiday weekend, the last big biking weekend of the summer.
The temporary warning signs warn bikers of safety risks such as
known accident hot-spots, bends with poor visibility, locations
where vehicles may be turning into or out of side roads, and
locations where speeds will be slower.
To help our motorway users, over 8,000 large blue signs have been
installed next to the hard shoulder of many of our motorways.
They are positioned every 500 metres along the roadside to show
drivers which motorway they are on, the direction they are
travelling in and how far they are from the start of the motorway.
If drivers can tell
the Highways Agency, emergency services, or a recovery company what
information is on the sign, they will be able to find and help them
or deal with any incident being reported much more quickly. |
Letters to the editor:- "Disabled at Southport Flower Show."
"I tried
booking tickets for said event via ticket master, we needed 3
in total, 1 for the gentleman who is driving us there, 1 for Donald,
who is disabled and 80 and myself who is his career 24 hours, they
said they do not know how to book these and told me to ring the
Flower Show direct, which I did and spoke to a guy called Alex.
I explained what I wanted, but was told that you could not book for
disabled and to pay on the gate (£17), but if you book in advance
tickets are only £14, admittedly the career goes free, but therefore
discriminating against the disabled person, which I thought was
illegal.
The second thing I asked about was parking for disabled and was told
to park in the eco center, last year they charged £5 ,I do not know
any were in the country that charge disabled for parking. I
feel this is also discriminatory, I would love to know your comments
and various bodies on this matter." Mike Hutchinson,
Haworth, West Yorkshire.
David Jackson, Chief Executive of Southport Flower Show comments:-
“Firstly, we would like to apologise to Mr Hutchinson for the
problems he has encountered in booking tickets for this year's
Southport Flower Show. We positively welcome visitors with
disabilities and have excellent flat walkways and wheelchairs, and
scooters are available for hire during the show. The
system we have for disabled visitors to purchase tickets is the same
system for everyone, and is no way discriminatory. Mr
Hutchinson could have booked an advance ticket for himself at £14,
as can anyone. However, disabled visitors who would like to
bring a carer need to purchase their ticket at the gate on the day.
Single tickets on the day cost £17. This single ticket will
admit a disabled visitor and their carer. There is no
additional cost for the carer. The reason we ask disabled
visitors buy on the gate is because, disappointingly, in recent
years, advance concessionary purchasing has been abused by visitors
falsely claiming to be carers. The issue of parking is a
separate issue. Southport Flower Show has no on-site parking.
All nearby parking is controlled by the local authority, who decide
the policy re-charges.”
Editors note:- "Thank you for your phone
call and email. We hope the Flower Show reply is of some help
to you. As for Sefton MBC, who control the parking, we will
also try and get some information for you."
DRINK LIKE THE STARS AT THE VINCENT HOTEL
AFTERNOON tea
is making a comeback and now you can get your fill of cakes and
cream at the Vincent Hotel. Ever since Kate Moss celebrated
her birthday by indulging in tea and sandwiches, the A-listers have
been queuing up for the civilised refreshment. It seems the
newest trend on the celebrity scene is to relive our childhoods and
indulge in afternoon tea parties. Southport’s top hotel is now
offering the latest craze for holiday makers as well as shoppers who
want to take a break from flexing their credit cards. So
whether you’re after your coffee fix or you want to stick to a
traditional pot of tea, you can now enjoy it all in chic
surroundings. You can forget the calories as you tuck into
home-made scones, chocolate éclairs, cup cakes and three different
types of delicious sandwiches. To indulge your sweet tooth
even further, there’s a fantastic chocolate fountain where you can
dip in meringues, fruit and marshmallows as many times as you like.
Owner Paul Adams said:- “Afternoon tea may sound more like
‘childsplay’ than the height of glamour but celebrities have
realised how much fun sipping tea and eating cakes and sandwiches
can be. Not only is it a great way to relax during a hectic
day of shopping or sight-seeing, it’s also a chance to catch up with
your friends.”
The sweet treat costs
just £12.50 and you can refill your cup as often as you like.
Afternoon tea is available every Saturday and Sunday between 3pm and
5pm. |
