~ PUTNEY BRIDGE CLOSURE. NO ACCIDENTS ON THE HIGH STREET ~

 Waking up these days is a real pleasure for me. As I peer out my front window I see people preambling up the high street with a smile on their face, couples holding hands on their way to work, children crossing the road without anxiety etched all over their faces. This is all new to me, yet I have lived on the high street for years. Putney, these days, seems a much quieter, more relaxed place without our bridge in action. And, its only been closed a few weeks !

 Having this unique standard of comparison has enabled me to become aware of just how busy our high street has become, even in just the last few years. Without the amount of traffic flowing through the roads I have noticed less pollution, less noise &, most importantly, less accidents. And all that does not heighten my ability to see the re-opening of our bridge as a terribly good thing. For its citizens, at least.

  When I speak to our older population about the lack of traffic & how they feel about our recent, but temporary, transformation, I see a halcyon bliss emanate from their golden smiles & something inside prods me to consider that maybe putney`s past was a nicer place to have lived. According to the elderly, the high street was indeed a better experience when it came to life longevity & keeping the front windows clean. For the amount of accidents that have occurred since Aunt Nellie`s day has risen tenfold. This is very troubling when one considers the amount of places in London today that are cut off from traffic coursing through its arteries. Naturally, it would be easy for me to say that Putney would have been a much healthier, kinder environment to have lived in during the 1950`s or 60`s, so I shan`t, but what I will say, after speaking with them, is that I can empathize with their sentiments.

 Not being one for living in the past, as it encourages a rose-coloured attitude, I can see the benefits of strengthening the bridge & I would not want to stop this essential work from being carried out. And I am in agreement with the local authorities timing. However, I do feel it worth speaking to others about the traffic levels that we now have to contend with on a daily basis, especially that live on the high street.

  Today we have a unique standard of comparison that we can work from. Never before have we had such a golden opportunity that allows us to compare the past levels of traffic with the high levels of accidents & deaths Putney has seen over the last few years. So, what I say, as a citizen of Putney, is that now is the time that we began a debate that takes into account the local people feelings on how to deflect the amount of traffic flowing through us. A more mutually beneficial way of getting people into town quicker by car without the relentless use of our high street twenty four hours a day ? Other parts of London have adopted such strategies & they work well. Why not us ?

 If I ruled Putney for just one day, I would be hard pushed not to consider implementing some kind of long-term, effective solution that diverted traffic away from the our high street, even if it were for just for a few hours a day ~

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