Drivers littering scenic Gloucestershire hedgerows
INCONSIDERATE drivers are lobbing rubbish from car windows decimating the county's hedgerows.
Increasing levels of litter have been reported along the Golden Valley bypass and the Quedgeley bypass, between the Kingsway entrance and the PetSmart traffic lights.
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PROBLEMATIC: Rubbish on the A38 between Cole Avenue lights and Kingsways, Quedgeley.
Drivers are being accused of discarding their sandwich packets, crisp bags and drinks cans out of their windows while driving along the busy 'A' roads.
Gloucestershire county councillor and parish councillor Bill Whelan (Lib Dem, Churchdown) has urged motorists to think twice before ruining the surrounding scenery, particularly along the Golden Valley which falls under his ward.
He said: "Any litter is always an issue, including along busy A roads. It is difficult to get teams in to pick up the litter because the road has to be closed, or partly closed. I do wish people would refrain from throwing litter from their windows."
Disgusting
Meanwhile, Barry Kirby, chairman of the Kingsway Residents Association, is aware of the problem on the Quedgeley bypass.
He said: "It is the main access point to the city from the south and it is really disgusting. It is the first impression that a lot of visitors get. It needs to be cleaned a lot more frequently than it currently is, I would suggest at least once every three months."
The litter has an effect on the wildlife living in the county's hedgerows too. Colin Studholme, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's director of policy and research, said: "Litter can be a hazard for wildlife such as hedgehogs and birds, as they may attempt to eat it, or become entangled in plastic or tin cans."
A Gloucester City Council spokesman said: "Currently we clean this area twice yearly on request from Gloucestershire Highways, as they are responsible for this area of land. We are currently reviewing this with them with a view to increasing frequency."
A Highways Agency spokesman said: "The Highways Agency coordinates with the councils if and when traffic management measures, such as lane closures, need to be put in place to allow for safe litter collection."
19 Comments
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by wjs
Friday, February 10 2012, 4:35PM
“golden valley soon gets cleared when the horse racing is on at Cheltenham Racecourse that's more than twice a year.lets have a racecourse in Kingsway area?
Ernie Smith Tuffley”
by Kay_Powell
Friday, February 10 2012, 3:30PM
“Why would anyone expect the councillors to clean up the rubbish themselves? They didn't create the mess. No, people on community service should be made to do it.”
by LewBrush
Friday, February 10 2012, 9:37AM
“Some years ago I witnessed an incident where the occupants of a car, a family of four, took the opportunity of a long traffic delay to clear all the rubbish out of their vehicle. This was in full view of many other people as they were on a roundabout! It came flying out of the open windows, crisp bags, fag packets et al. Another motorist was so incensed that he got out of his car and started to throw it all back, at which point the male driver starts to get out, obviously not very happy. But horns started to blare, other doors were opening, and the confrontation did not take place. All the rubbish went back from whence it came. Be nice to think that such summary action were the norm, but sadly and shown by this report today, it is the rarity.”
by Alphonso2
Friday, February 10 2012, 9:09AM
“If our councillors weren't so busy being self-important at endless meaningless meetings , they'd have the time to clear the rubbish themselves!”
by Reportage
Friday, February 10 2012, 8:30AM
“they do use 'chain gangs' as you call them valhalla2010 but the place looks extra scruffy s they cant organise the litter pickers at the same time as the grass cutters.
What really gets me is that people from the counciul and highways etce etc must drive past this and other eyesores every day of the week and if they had an effective internal reprting sytem, or if they cared or if they did anythign other than write regulations and pass the blame to another civil servant, then I suggest the town would look a lot cleaner than at present.”
by Kay_Powell
Thursday, February 09 2012, 6:14PM
“You took the words right out of my mouth, skipididoodah. He might have meant desecrating, perhaps. Does anyone have any other suggestions?”
by spindles12
Thursday, February 09 2012, 5:01PM
“I live along Bristol Road and the front garden has a hedge alongside the footpath. People passing by seem to think it's OK to stuff bottles, cartons, chip wrappers, cigarette packets and half eaten burgers either in the hedge or at the bottom of it. Last week, when bringing in the wheely bin I found stuffed in the hedge behind the bin 108 tablets, still in the blister packs. I took them indoors and looked up the medication. It was for the relief of problems associated with treating alcoholism. I informed the Police and then disposed of them. I hate to think what might have happened if a child had found them and decided to try them. I would hope that the stupid person who threw them away would have had more sense but, considering what they were meant to relieve, I expect he's too drunk to care.”
by skipididoodah
Thursday, February 09 2012, 3:18PM
“"Decimating"? I agree that littering is repugnant, but if it's killing 10% of the county's hedgerows then it's a bigger problem than I thought.”
by Chris2308
Thursday, February 09 2012, 1:06PM
“Even the TV dumped on the side of the roads for months has gone."
... and it works very nicely thanks. :)”
by valhalla2010
Thursday, February 09 2012, 12:44PM
“Get the chain gangs out there!”