Letter: Transprt - Roads nothing but a nightmare

I work as a taxi driver in the Harrogate town centre and the surrounding areas.

The roads in Harrogate are nothing but a nightmare for not only the people who live here, work here or are indeed passing through or just visiting.

The incompetence of the highways department completely makes my blood boil. Not only do we have to put up with the frustrations that are caused by the council, allowing essential works at the boom of Parliament Street and King Road, there is in recent weeks some decisions made that are in a nut shell nothing but dangerous, and I would even dare to say illegal.

On a number of occasions lately I have had to drive along Ripon Road, and at the New Park roundabout there is what I believe a very dangerous change to the painted road markings.

As you head out of Harrogate towards Ripon, the council have changed the direction of travel for the left lane, that is there to allow traffic to travel towards Skipton.

In recent weeks the council have changed this lane to allow the traffic to travel toward Ripon, without putting up proper signs to tell us of the changes.

Not only has this been changed to allow this act, but then a day or two later it changed back to what it originally was, but then changed back again to allow the drivers to head towards Ripon.

The actual road sign was nothing but a piece of masking tape that looks like a child has been playing around, pointing that you can use either lane to go straight on towards Ripon.

This is creating I believe a serous hazard to road users of this area, and potentially will be the cause of a serious if not fatal road traffic accident.

There is not enough room as you leave this roundabout and head north for two lanes of traffic because of the traffic island the other side of the roundabout. Surely the safest way for this particular roundabout is to leave it as it was, and keep the left lane to head west onto Skipton road only.

If the council feel that they have an overstock of white lining paint, may I suggest that they do something useful, for example as you travel from Markington, and head towards the A61 the white road markings are very badly faded, at the junction of the main Ripon Road at Wormald Green and to any stranger at night they may not see the junction ahead and the consequences of this would possibly be fatal.

Then there is the frustration aspect and I share whole-heartedly the issues of Sandra Doherty (Harrogate Advertiser, October 26)regarding the roadworks on Kings Road - Parliament Street junction, but I feel that I should point out to her that the highways department are first class experts at causing frustration for motorists in Harrogate.

The taxi drivers in the town are fed up with people not seeing that Parliament Street is in fact at night a taxi rank.

But really I should be pointing out to the highways department that signs need to be placed nearer the buildings and restaurants, so that people will notice that they are committing an offence.

If the council did this it would make the taxi drivers’ lives easier, and not only that it would help the younger people leaving Viper rooms see that there are taxis waiting, and that they are available for work.

Come on you lot in the highways department, please start consulting the local traders, and taxi drivers as to what our views are and as to how you can help us.

Andrew Thompson

Mount Gardens, Harrogate