Elderly not considered in road closure plans Stratford Grey Power says

While everyone loves the Christmas Parade, not everyone loves the road closure that comes with it.

Grey Power president Peter Hartley wrote to Stratford District Council, voicing the concerns of the group. The objection letter was discussed at this month's council meeting.

The letter cited concerns about the road closure time, confusion caused by the detour routes and difficulty to get to shops in the area.

"The early closure of the road makes it harder of members of Grey Power and other members of the community to access the main street of town," Peter says.

The road closes at 4.30pm for the parade and opens again at 7.30pm, something Peter argues is too long, saying in previous years the closure has been for a much shorter period.

Roading manager Steve Bowden said the letter from Grey Power was the only objection received.

He told elected members the timing of the closure is to prevent cars getting trapped within the closure.

"If cars are parked in the closure while the parade is happening, they can't leave."

Grey Power members are also concerned about how they will get their prescriptions from the pharmacy, says Peter.

Peter says the group is also concerned about the detour route, saying accidents are likely to occur.

"I have seen many near misses on the corners of Juliet/ Regan street and Juliet/ Fenton street. Traffic was denied access at Hills Road last year. It's hard to get to the west-south of Stratford."

Steve said road closure and detour signage will be placed at the intersections and the council will ensure all vehicles wishing to use Hills Road will have access.

Peter says he and his fellow Grey Power members don't object to the parade itself, and want people to enjoy it, but feel their own enjoyment is diminished by some of the concerns they have raised.

"I love attending the Christmas Parade and I want other members of Grey Power to be able to attend it as well."

At the Council meeting, councillors decided to go ahead with the road closure to enable the parade to go ahead.