I wanted to write to thank the Wimbledon Guardian for their help in getting the dangerously loose steps on the railway footbridge at the end of Merton Hall Road fixed.
Since April I had been liaising with Network Rail about fixing these. The delay was beginning to get ridiculous. Presumably they don’t want people to fall and get hurt, but they didn’t seem to take it seriously.
And so in October, through my Neighbourhood Watch group, I organised for a concerted series of complaints and a quick ‘photo shoot’ with residents at the bridge. Through one of the complaints we found that two departments within Network Rail (NR) disagreed over who was responsible for the bridge’s maintenance. The local media were really helpful and we had good coverage.
The quotes in the press from Network Rail were a little patronising, but nonetheless, within a few days a NR maintenance team was on the bridge fixing the dangerous steps.
The bridge is still in a fairly poor state, but a lot safer than before. It really shouldn’t be so difficult for people to get action on the things that matter to them.
Anthony Fairclough
Dundonald Liberal Democrats
Merton Hall Road
- Send your letters to: letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk
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