11 October 2023 , 13:16
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A woman has blasted "mind-boggling' positioning of lamp posts on a road by a council, leaving just a "15-inch gap" for pedestrians to pass.
Carol Wilson, 50, did not hold back as she said "you would have to be an absolute imbecile" to construct the posts where people can "barely squeeze through" in Morley, West Yorkshire. She took photos of the redesigned narrow walkway because of the posts.
She claims the "mind-boggling" positioning leaves an approximate 15-inch gap, leaving "barely enough room for one person" to squeeze through to the second crossing point. She added: "Men at the council never think about women having to push prams."
Locals saw Carol's snaps on Facebook where they joined her in branding it a "joke" and some even called for those involved to be sacked. Leeds City Council, who manage the crossing, have admitted the posts were "incorrectly" positioned and they've contacted their contractor to move them.
Carol said: "You'd have to be an absolute imbecile to put that post there. Then somebody's supervisor has gone 'yep, that's fine' and signed it all off and carried on with their work. Somebody somewhere had made a massive error of judgement. I wouldn't like to have somebody lose their job but they need a good telling off.
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Carol has blasted the council over the positioning of the lamp posts (Kennedy News and Media)
She claimed the gap was only 15 inches wide (Kennedy News and Media)"I have to go through that junction all the time. I spotted it while driving through and just thought 'what on earth have they done?'. There's probably 30-40cm on the left-hand side and maybe a bit more on the right-hand side. But then you've got the other post for the other crossing in the way on the other side. You'd have to chicane around that as well.
"Someone said she and a couple of kids had to go through in single file, it's just stupid. There's another one across the road and there's no way people will be able to get through if they've got a pushchair or a double buggy. I'm going to be a little bit of a feminist here - I'm assuming because men never think about women having to push prams. It's just ludicrous that it's obviously gone through several stages of planning and somebody's just gone, 'yeah that's fine', and honestly, it's not."
It's not clear when the lamp posts were installed but Carol says Morley residents have grown "fed up" with months of temporary traffic lights in the area. Carol's Facebook post, captioned "the utter mind-boggling brilliance of this" has received more than 300 likes and 160 comments in a group.
The council admitted that they had been "incorrectly" placed (Kennedy News/Google Maps)One asked: "Is there room for prams or double buggies?" Carol replied: "I very much doubt it. Barely room for a person to squeeze through." Another commented "Brainless wonders! [You] have to hope that it's fixed soon, before there are accidents from the people attempting to get around the area safely. Prams and pushchairs will have problems, wheelchairs and mobility scooters have no chance. My partner wouldn't even try it with my wheelchair, we'd both be bruised before he gave up trying. No idea!"
A third wrote: "This is someone's actual job, that they are employed to do daily... and they can't even get it right. What a joke. Might as well have just asked one of us to do it. Idiots." A fourth said: "Who on earth is the contractor that did this? Who signed it off? Should be sacked in my opinion."
Another agreed: "I just hope the council sacks the firm and never uses them again! Well, we can hope!" One moaned: "This is our council tax. This should NEVER have happened... Why did this happen in the first place? [The whole] junction is a joke (...) tax rebate for ALL Morley residents."
One even joked: "Subconscious weightloss scenario. Lose the belly or stay put. Genius [grinning emojis]." A Leeds City Council spokesman said: "Leeds City Council are aware of some incorrectly located posts installed as part of the traffic signal works at Corporation Street. We have raised this with our contractors and these are being relocated as soon as possible to ensure everyone is able to pass through the junction."