| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Past their use-by date' | |
| Posted by: | Alan Brainsby | |
| Date/Time: | 10/08/10 14:03:00 |
| "petrol filling station - on the north side about halfway between the Kremlin and the start of the real world in West Ealing, before thet site too was obliterated by the tide of..." The site is still there but flattened, the crossings in and out are still visible, in front of the green hoarding. I remember buying my Cortina there in the 1960s when it was a Vauxhall dealership. "...building out a single storey extension at the front to house the retail bit..." Essentially moving the building line forward. In Ealing Broadway, The Broadway could be widened by at least one traffic lane if those extensions to the east of EB centre were demolished. Regarding Jane Jacobs, architectural merit, etc old building do have a function. The retail units of older buildings are cheaper, both because of size and condition. It is no bad thing to keep the best of the old when it is in good, or repaired, condition. I appreciate the fact that modern structures are often built down to a price and also have to conform to regulations regarding size, fittings, and insulation. However niche shops can exist in the likes of Northfield Avenue, Pitshanger Lane, South Ealing Road. They don't have to be on main roads. Whether we like it Uxbridge Road is a thoroughfare of some importance. The probability of diverting most traffic from it to the parallel roads of A40 and A4 is unlikely. Of course this gets into the real world of town planning - why have shops fronting main roads? It encourages illegal parking and that menace of the motorist - pedestrians. As you say, we may differ, but that's a privilege of being gentlemen. |