English Heritage - YOU CAN PREVENT THIS.....

Since the closure of the A344 in June 2013 there have been a number accidents and incidents at the Stonehenge section of the A303 culminating in a tragedy!   This is the section of the A303 where drivers slow down to take pictures of the Stone Circle - "usually on the move" and is dangerous enough, but last weekend, we had the first fatality which locals fear, won't be the last.   It does appear that the unfortunate gentleman, Patrick Sturtivant, in this instance, got out of his car, crossed over the A303 to take that "once in a lifetime" photo which sent him to his demise.   Read the story in my previous posting "It is with regret".   The driver of the Mercedes involved in the incident, will have this on his conscience and will see the awful pictures for the rest of his life.   The thoughtless agreement by Wiltshire Council and English Heritage to close the A344 for financial gain i.e. to prevent drivers pitching up near to, or at the World Heritage Site, and take a "freebie" through the fence has made the area a very dangerous place to be....at least it was the safer option and even English Heritage can't do anything about human nature!!!
I know it was always their "VISION" to put Stonehenge back to the way it was thousands of years ago but.....hey! wake up E.H..... the world is a different place in 2014AD than it was in 2700BC!
It's now time for them to do something about the mess they've caused...be it bottle necks or traffic jams, something needs to be done about this section of the A303 fast.   English Heritage need to stop their dogmatic attitude, making decisions from a desk in London, and listen to local people.   They need to at least construct a BERM: a mound or bank of earth used as a barrier which can be built sympathetically and there are many ways this can be achieved......

I quote from a comment on our Facebook page from one Julian Beams who feels as strongly about all this as the rest of us living and working in this area...... 

 

"Julian Beames AS PREDICTED - This was my post on the 2nd May accompanied some photos of cars parked in the byway - QUOTE <<. I really hope we don't have a death or serious injury to a pedestrian this summer on the A303, but I fear the worst, having witnessed the scene. All the ingredients are there now..... Cars stopping in the byeway, heavy traffic, distracted pedestrians dodging between the cars to take a photo and foreign tourists looking the wrong way for cars......what a shambles! >>UNQUOTE....... On this occasion I am very sad to have been proven correct, but it was only a matter of time. This unfortunate person will be the first of many. I see pedestrians putting themselves at huge risk virtually every time I pass Stonehenge. It is no different from trying to cross a motorway on foot. The fact that the Inspector at the Public Inquiry ignored the obvious consequences of the closure of the A344 in terms of the increased risk that would be created by tourists taking photos on the A303 is so disappointing. If English Heritage had been forced to do any proper risk assessment on the effects of the closure on this aspect of public safety, then it would have shown that the risk was unacceptably high. Yet again, World Heritage Status has trampled on "proper due process". RIP Mr Sturtivant"
ENGLISH HERITAGE - GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!!!