Use Alternative Crossing

I may have mentioned, from time to time, the troubles and tribulations caused to this wonderful town by the presence of the A63 sometimes known as Castle Street and universally regarded as a pain in the fundament. Well now Highways England which is responsible for all this decided to upgrade a pedestrian crossing and work commenced in October ... and here we are at the end of the first week of December with no crossing, no upgrade, no work being done, no workers on site, nada, rien, zip!. Questions are asked by Councillors as to just what on earth is going on here (not a lot, clearly). Highways England are the folk who have promised to improve this road but have yet to submit planning applications ("We're working on it", they say and have been saying for years) and if it takes this long for them to upgrade a crossing (come to think of it how do you upgrade a crossing?) then I shudder to think how long any improvements to the actual road will take. 

Just a little footnote here. This crossing is the most direct route to the Marina and Fruit Market area where many of next year's City of Culture events are happening. That all kicks off in a little over three weeks. Just sayin' is all.

A foreign country

I don't know what the protocol is with photoblogs regarding showing photos of photos; I did it before and no-one said anything so I'll try it again. So above we have the Princes dock as it was some time ago with trawlers parked up against Maurice Lipman's tailor shop (yes, that Lipman's dad). I have no idea who took it or when it was taken (1940s/50s early 60s even, someone will know)  and I do hope that lady crossed the road safely. The picture is on display in Zebedee's Yard as part of a memorial to lost trawler men, I'll show more tomorrow. Nowadays there's no road,  no trawlers and no tailor shop either. I think it's selling Apples (not the fruit). 

There were two other photographs on display so here they are to make the full set.

This is from what is now the Maritime Museum, that dinky little bridge in the distance is now Castle Street...

...and this is from the exit to the Albert Dock if I'm not mistaken.
(And I am mistaken; it's St Andrew's Dock!)

"Looks like an accident in the cutlery drawer"

Over last weekend and to the annoyance of many gridlocked motorists Castle Street was blocked off and the new footbridge (which we last saw parked up in preparation in a car park a few weeks ago) was shuffled into position in a faultless manner and much quicker than expected. The road was reopened fifteen hours earlier than forecast to much rejoicing. The bridge is only the small matter of thirty odd years late (who's counting?) ... and it won't be fit for pedestrians until spring.

The title was Margot's comment upon first seeing this. "Like the dish ran away with the spoon?" said I. Still you don't have to look at it when you're on it.

The weekend in Black and White is here.

South

Looking south over the Marina and the redeveloped dockside. The road is Castle Street, often busy, regularly snarled up and scheduled for a serious rethink except there's no money. The horizon shows where sky and Lincolnshire and water meet.

You're going the wrong way

Another helpful sign, this one on Castle Street.

As the town's traffic problems continue in the usual manner, (somehow Fridays are block-up-the-town days, verb sap to any visitors from out of town) a councillor was reported in the local rag as saying that there things were only going to get worse. It was he said "unrealistic" to expect more roads to be built to ease congestion. The council, he said, couldn't afford a survey into how to improve things, indeed the council cannot even afford to submit a planning application for a Park-and-Ride scheme. Brave, plain speaking you might think especially as the local council elections are coming up in May, but then the voters of this town would vote for a smelly dead dog with a red rosette rather change their ways.

Waiting for the little green man

The wait to cross this road is considerably shorter than the wait for improvements to traffic flow on Hull's busiest road. The improvements do not even figure on the list of major road projects approved by the Department for Transport. 2015 is the earliest date we can expect work to begin on Castle Street but I'm thinking it might never happen.  So until then we'll just have to push the button and wait for the signal.

For sale: One vote; never been used.

EU flags on Castle Street, Hull

To assuage the snarling, swivel-eyed, hoopleheaded little englanders otherwise known as the Conservative Party the utterly pointless prime minister has called a completely unnecessary referendum, in June, on whether the UK stays in the EU. I, like I suspect vast swathes of the country, couldn't give a monkey's arse one way or the other. I don't think it'll make a great deal of difference either in or out. So, on the principle (if you can call it that) of doing the opposite of what the Government wants me to do I'm going to vote for out ... but let me be clear I am not unreasonable and I am open to persuasion for a reasonable fee (cash only). Good grief there's going to be months and months of this boring euro-twaddle ... if I hear the word 'Brexit' again I don't think I can answer for the consequences!

Expect Delays

I may have mention once or twice the problem that is Castle Street and that money had been agreed for a grand plan to alleviate some of the mess that is caused by funnelling a motorway into a inner-city dual carriageway. By now the detailed plans should be available, well it is well known that "should" butters no parsnips. These plans will not now be available until next Springtime (when birds do sing hey ding a ding, ding). I'm all for measuring twice and cutting once but to keep on putting things back will mean the actual work will neatly coincide with that other Hull problem the 2017 City of Culture. (One of themes I have heard is to be "Roots and Routes" so maybe it's all part of fiendish plan.) Drivers and that includes visitors to the cultural delights will be advised to take alternative routes, that is shorthand for find your own way through the infernal gridlock, matey, you're on your own! You have been warned.

Mr Toad meets Gandhi

Seems this toad has found its way across town, a short hop you might say, into the Transport Museum's gardens with convenient access to a suitably large pond. A much more tranquil site than next to the Arc building on Castle Street where I last saw it; and peace, as someone once said, is its own reward.. 

Just don't drop it

What's this? Some kind of fair ground attraction at the back of Staples, a place well known for attractions of an all together different sort? No, not even close.

Back in April I mentioned that work had started on building a footbridge across Castle Street. Well in the past few days in this car park just a few yards down the road this has spring  up. Yes, it looks like the long awaited bridge just needs lifting up and putting in the right place and we should be good to trot. But quite how you lift a girt heavy and wide load like this and place it with pinpoint accuracy on its supports is thankfully not my concern. Let's just hope they don't drop it.

The Weekend in Black and White is here.

Vicar Lane

Did the vicar actually live down Vicar Lane? I don't suppose I'll ever know. This narrow lane runs from Holy Trinity Church to Castle Street near to Burnett House which I showed you two or three days ago.

Flagging Interest

This is Castle Street which runs between the main shopping area on the left and the Marina on the right. It doesn't look it but this road is one of the busiest in the area and there are plans to build a tunnel and bury the road. The Marina and the Riverside development are meant to attract new and vibrant companies to poor old Hull. This is the "build it and they'll come" approach to economic revival. We still await their arrival.

Anyhow the flags were colourful and it was a nice sunny day.

Another day, another plan, another slogan

This is a slogan of the  property development company, Wykeland, eager to make a buck out of redeveloping the old Fruit Market and its surroundings. It is part of a slick marketing operation to sell the (£80 million) plans for not just a hundred or so new homes but a whole 'urban village' lifestyle whatever that may be. Well, judging by the company video, what it appears to be is people of a certain age (no older than 27, I'd guess) giggling, drinking coffee, giggling, drinking more coffee, giggling more  (presumably all that coffee sets off a giggle reflex) and so on as they live, work and play and their money pours into the coffers of Wykeland.

The video, so I'm informed, was shot in Shoreditch and Southwark in London as well as in Hull. Those places may well be able to support an 'urban village' lifestyle being situated in the middle of one of the greatest and richest urban populations in the world. The old Fruit Market is surrounded by water on three sides and the hell that is Castle Street on the other and is a crusty pimple on the bottom of one of the poorest cities in Britain. It will be interesting to see if the project gets off the ground. 

On a lighter note, if you are into meaningless slogans such as the one above, check out the mind blowing one below. Well D'oh!

 

Meditations on Mud and Myton Bridge

One of the features of the river Hull as it approaches the Humber is the large accumulations of muddy silt on the banks. Presumably when the river was busier this would have been dredged but as hardly anything of any size now uses the river it has been left to its own devices with the result you see here. Upstream the silting means that there is barely room for one barge to navigate the channel. Clearly if the river is going to feature as an attraction this cannot go on. The mud banks are impressive but they are a worrying symptom of neglect. Understandably there is little incentive to clear up the river any  time soon but there is really no time to lose to clear up the mess that is Castle Street which crosses the river here at Myton Bridge. The Government has said the money is available and plans are being drawn up and work will start, if ever, in 2015 and last for  four years.(Imagine four years of road works on one of the busiest roads in the country, that is even now prone to gridlock at the drop of a hub cap.) I think Hull might have been consumed by the mud before that particular problem is solved.

For more monochrome delights visit the Weekend in Black and White.

'merican golf

A little splash of colour (should that be color?) on Castle Street. Those aren't parked cars just part of the continuous stream down this busy road.

Bring out your dead

I mentioned so time ago that the old burial ground of Holy Trinity church on Castle Street stood in the way of proposed improvements and that a large portion of it would have to cleared. People were asked to make contact with the authorities if their ancestors were interred in here. Anyhow some work has started, all hidden behind a whopping high fence. However they forgot about the bit where the old wall stands so it's possible to hold a camera over and take a sneaky peek. They've cleared the gravestones and some kind of drill is in place. Clearly this has done irreparable damage to the place. At least the trees are still standing, hopefully the bat roost is undisturbed.

Now all this might be deemed fit and proper; clearing ground for development and so on, if the proposed road scheme were just itching to start. But, and this comes as absolutely no surprise, there is still no planning application in place and the Highways Agency now claims there are environmental issues it has to overcome. The start date is pushed back to 2020 or even later ... or never. I let you draw your own conclusion about the announcement of this further delay coming just after the recent election. You get the feeling we'll all be dead in our graves before this is started.

PS. I should add that all the exhumed bones will be reburied in an unspoilt part of the graveyard. And this from the local paper is advice to anyone who thinks their ancestors may be buried there to call the project team on 0113 2836805 or email A63castlestreet.hull@highways.gsi.gov.uk

Burnett House, Castle Street

Here's a fine example of how to waste money. The building above had stood empty for years and was derelict as you can see below. Clearly nobody had any need for the building. So pull it and down and build something that might be useful? No, you can't do that; you've got to keep our glorious heritage. You must spend thousands repairing the years of neglect, bring it back to how it was when it was built. So, money spent and building repaired you find tenants to use the building? No, it stands empty, just like before, for over four years. When it was derelict it at least served as home for pigeons, now it's just an empty useless building that nobody wants.

To Build a Bridge v2.0

I may have mentioned from time to time the inconvenience to the folk of this sleepy little town of having a busy dual carriage way split off a good third of the town centre. Well never let it be said that nothing has been done about it. Lots of plans have been drawn up, many words have been spoken on the matter, numerous ideas have been proposed, indeed a whole mountain range of hot air, wasted opportunity, and best intentions has sprung up and been eroded to dust by the passing thirty or so years. But no more! A few months ago the silly EU flags were pulled down (& put in storage, you never know when they might be needed again things being the way they are just now...) JCBs cleared land and cranes and pile drivers appeared. It seems that at long last a footbridge will span the mighty A63/Castle Street so people on foot or in wheel chairs or on segways, bikes or unicycles or what ever can just waltz from one side to the other without waiting for the little green man. The price of all this fancy liberty? A mere £12 million.

Before I get too carried away I would just caution that the last footbridge built in this town took over three years to build with problems involving the contractor. And, right on cue, the contractor building this has recently gone into administration. There are, of course, promises that this will not affect the construction. Hmmm.

I bet you're dying to know what the bridge is going to look like. I can sense your jealousy ....

(Pictured "borrowed" from Hull Daily Mail)

Going but not gone yet

It was May last year that I reported that the Arc building had been sold and was due to move on to pastures new. Well, as you can see, it and its turbines are still very much all present and correct. Seems the best laid plans have gone agley as they are wont to and the building is up for sale again. So if you've got £75,000 to spare (yeah, I know it was sold at auction for £21,000 but a profit must be turned somehow) you can have a bunch of upturned caravans to do with as you like so long as you move them from here before the Castle Street improvements begin. The turbines are not included, they've already been sold, not that they ever worked properly.

Myton Gate

In 1322 the city of Hull was granted the right to collect murage, a tax to build and repair the city walls. Within thirty or so years the city was surrounded by walls on all sides except on the river Hull. There were five main entrances through which traffic could pass, North Gate, Beverley Gate, Myton Gate, Hessle Gate and Watergate. (I know the plaque says four but just because a gate leads to the city dump doesn't mean you can ignore it). You can get an idea of how the walls looked from the title picture at the top of this blog. The walls and gates were maintained up until the establishment of the Hull Dock Company in 1774, the next few years saw the demolition of all these medieval defences. I couldn't find any accurate contemporary images of Myton Gate, the image below comes from a series drawn in 1951 by somebody called T Armstrong and is on display in the robing room of the Guildhall. I cannot vouch for its accuracy.

This plaque is on a converted warehouse at the Castle Street end of Princes Dock. I've posted bits of this building before here and here.

From Hull Museums Collection