Perverse policy

[Martin Cassini]

Just back (on foot) from Elephant & Castle. Instead of using the underpasses, I crossed the roads that fan out from the roundabout. There were plenty of gaps in traffic, and it would be fine if it weren't for some people's intolerance born of the mean-spirited rules of the road. I'd already more or less reached the central refuge on one two-lane road, when I was honked at by a bus-driver. His mindset, shaped by the rules of the road, told him a pedestrian had no business being there, even though I wasn't interfering with traffic. Clearly it would be inappropriate to walk across a traffic-only interchange such as Spaghetti Junction. But Elephant & Castle is an urban hub. Incidentally, someone is still placing flowers at the spot where cyclist, Meryem Ozekman, was killed. A curse on policymakers who make roads unfit for people. Should they face a murder charge? (See also 19.4.09 blog post, Accident or Murder.)