Has Rye got the twenty first century vision?
Seventeen years into the twenty first century Rye has no bypass, poor parking is causing chaos and the upkeep of much of the town’s heritage (for example, the Landgate) is a disgrace.
Road improvements took place in the sixties, when a new section of road was built alongside Strand Quay, bypassing the narrow road in front of the Ship Inn which was then the A259 trunk road and in the seventies the road from Ferry Road to the railway station was constructed. This allowed the narrow section of road in Cinque Ports Street to become one way.
In the nineties road safety was improved by installing two roundabouts: one at Skinners garage and one at the Kettle of Fish road junctions together with four zebra crossings, two being at the Kettle of Fish, one outside Jempson’s supermarket and at Fishmarket Road.
With fewer tourists visiting the town and two traffic wardens, parking was not a problem.
In the seventies the then town sergeant, town crier Gus Gale would regularly wind the Landgate clock so it always showed the correct time and the supermarket, that is now Jempson’s, was built which improved Rye’s shopping facilities
But in the twenty first century Rye has stagnated and so often the excuse for not addressing current problems is to blame Rother District Council and government cuts.
Is there a trend here? Over the years, Rye has seen more and more incomers into the community; they become local councillors, joined or formed societies, organisations and groups, becoming a part of the town’s establishment. Some of the incomers have integrated with the locals and some have looked upon the locals as village idiots. Some have said to me that they will do something for Rye, but in the last seventeen years they have not moved with the times.
My wishes for the new year are as follows:
- Ryers stop playing the blame game specially those that use local issues to score petty political points.
- The town presses for a bypass to be built
- Parking is enforced and more car parking provided such as park and ride.
- The Landgate is finally repaired and renovated
I also hope in 2017 there are no fatalities on the roads in and around Rye. And that there is no unnecessary congestion for the community or the emergency services due to poor and selfish parking. And finally that the mismanagement of the Landgate does not result in it collapsing into a pile of rubble.