Latest news with #PatrickDaley
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Road closure leaves Cotswold villagers using dangerous junction
Residents living in a Cotswold village say they are being forced to use a dangerous road junction where there are "deaths and accidents regularly".It follows the closure of a minor road from Brimpsfield to the A417 as part of the Missing Link scheme to build a dual carriageway between Gloucester and closure means locals are using the busy Birdlip junction on the A417 for the most direct route to Cirencester, which involves crossing both lanes of Highways said it "understands the concerns of the residents" and that work was being phased "very carefully to minimise the impact on local communities and motorists". Martin Smith, who has lived in Brimpsfield for nearly 50 years, said there are "deaths and accidents regularly" on the explained drivers end up waiting at the junction for a gap to appear. "If a lorry is coming it's probably doing 30 or so miles an hour, but motor cars they can sometimes be going 60 or 70," he said."Very recently I was at that junction, taking two of my family to Kemble and a car came over the top and I thought, I've got plenty of time. But then I thought, No, I haven't and the car hit me up the backside while waiting to join the main road, so it is a notorious junction," Mr Smith added. He said "on the positive side", rat running through the village "is probably going to come to an end, when the missing link is done".Another resident, Patrick Daley, said it was "a terrible junction"."Since we've lived here two women have been killed. It is dangerous and people who are coming up the hill are very pleased to be on the flat again, so put their foot down. "You have to be very conscious to get out safely, so I take my time". The road was initially supposed to close for six weeks from March, but now looks set to remain shut into the Foxley, National Highways' project director for the Missing Link scheme, said they were doing "everything we can" to minimise disruption and keep residents added: "We understand the concerns of the residents at this location, and we will be opening the local access road by early June, or earlier if possible.""For safety reasons, drivers are unable to access the A417 due to the contraflow in place but access remains from the Elkstone/Highwayman Inn junction" he said.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norwich Police holding a series of meeting to advocate for a new station: Why it's needed
The Norwich Police Department is working to convince the public it needs a new station in the downtown. NPD held an educational meeting about the proposed station in the Chelsea Groton Bank building on Wednesday night. Police Chief Patrick Daley explained why the department needs a new building, why the public should support it, and answered the public's questions. Daley will continue to hold these meetings on the last Wednesdays of the month. While this meeting was held at Norwich City Hall, future ones will be held at both the current police station on Thames Street, so the public can see why it's inadequate, and at the Chelsea Groton Bank building in downtown, so the public can see the potential, he said. Currently, the project is billed at $50 million. If approved in November, work would start in Spring 2026 and take up to 20 months to complete. If the public waits, the price will continue to climb, Daley said. A new police station has been a long-standing NPD goal, as the current building on Thames Street is too small. A space for 51 officers is forced to fit 85 officers. Larger facilities would help with expanding services and the recruiting and retention of officers, especially female officers, Daley said. The current building also can't support an upper level, and expansion to the current station would cost the same amount of money, but yield less building, and the department would still have a bad parking situation, and have to battle an eroding hill, Daley said. In 2012, the Norwich Police tried to turn the building that is now Reliance Health's Cliff Street office into a police station, but that was defeated because the plan then was overbuilt, Daley said. While no location was specified in the 2023 attempt to replace the police station, Daley wanted it on Mahan Drive near the Norwich Technical High School. However, skate park would need to be placed elsewhere, and the $44.75 million proposal was rejected by voters on Election Day in 2023, The Bulletin reported Nov. 2023 In December, the Norwich City Council approved the purchase of the Chelsea Groton Bank building in downtown with the intent to use at as the future police station for $800,000. The cost to renovate the building for police department needs would be $49 million. It's the cheapest of the three sites being considered, with redoing Mahan Drive costing $50 million, and a plan for Washington Street costing $57 million, The Bulletin reported in December. A multitude of improvements will come with a police station at the Chelsea Groton Bank site. It would allow the Police Department to resume downtown bike patrols and give enough space for 120 officers. A downtown police station would also provide the security needed to continue Norwich's economic revitalization, Daley said. Some features for the officers include more locker space, expanded gym, a partition for booking, and usable spaces for interviewing, as the current interviewing rooms are now used as offices. Features for the public include a secure meeting space in the front, a small Norwich Police Museum, and office space for local nonprofits, including those for mental health resources, Daley said. There will even be more and safer holding cells for detainees, including ones designed for individuals in a mental health crisis, Daley said. One thing the current police station has that the new one won't is an indoor shooting range, so other arrangements will need to be made so officers can practice their firearms. That said, the indoor range often has leaks, Daley said. If the Norwich Police can't get a new police station, it could lead to fewer officers, less efficiency, and less safety for officers, civilians and prisoners, Daley said. 'There's a tremendous cost to everybody to not do it,' he said. While U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, State Senator Cathy Osten, and State Reps. Derell Wilson, Doug Dubitsky and Kevin Ryan all support a new Norwich Police station, other state and federal officials will need more convincing, including Governor Ned Lamont, State Senate President Martin Looney, State House Speaker Matt Ritter and U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, Norwich Resident Tom Bonanno said. Daley said he aims to get between a third and half of the costs reimbursed by state and federal dollars. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Police aims to convince public that new station is needed
