This is my whinge from last week, though it will not be the last and it is certainly not the first for many Rye people.
I was driving up Mermaid Street, turned right to go past Lamb House to get to Watchbell Street/Church Square and as I turned left I was blocked by a van (pictured above). It was bang in the middle of the narrow road and right on the corner, so there was no way any other car could have passed.
I do understand that it must be frustrating for deliveries and decided to wait a bit to give the driver a chance. After a while I hooted with no success, so had to reverse back towards Lamb House, round the corner and down to the junction of West Street and Mermaid Street, hoping not to encounter a car coming up behind me.
No great shakes one might say and it did not take me long, but my concern was the possibility of an emergency in Church Square. An ambulance or fire engine which chose that way for expediency could not have got through and would have wasted unnecessary and valuable time dealing with the blockage.
While we in Rye know well the traffic difficulties, we would like to ask drivers of delivery and private vehicles – please do not block throughways, or park on double yellow lines on street corners!
Photo: Heidi Foster
I would have parked on his/her front bumper, left a message to say how inconsiderate he/she was interfering with flow of traffic and that he/she should call you on your phone requesting you to move to allow him/her to proceed normally without the interference he/she has caused you.
This is not quite as bad as the encounter I had on Friday 12th February I was driving the community bus on the 326 town service when I encountered a Lorry facing me in the mint and to compound the matter a brewery vehicle was unloading into the Standard Inn. I was stuck for about half an hour thus causing problems on the bus service.