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FLORAL tributes: flowers left by family and friends at the scene of a fatal smash in Stamford Street, Stalybridge
Roadside flowers limit on grieving
by Sue Carr24/ 9/2008
FLOWERS left by grieving relatives at the scene of road accidents could be removed if they are left there for more than a month.
Council bosses say floral tributes are a ‘distraction’ for other drivers and that mourners should take responsibility for removing them.
The new restrictions are being recommended in a bid to keep the streets clean and safe.
Councillor Peter Robinson, a former funeral director and chairman of the scrutiny panel which put forward the recommendation, said the council was trying to strike a balance between the needs of grieving families and road safety.
He said some tributes left on railings — specially designed so people can see through them — could obscure a driver’s view of the road.
"People have to grieve and it’s important that we let people grieve, but there has got to be some social responsibility on their part as well" he said.
"You get some tributes and when the flowers die it becomes an eyesore. Families don’t want to clear it up so they leave it for the council. They are a distraction, they do distract drivers’ attention and it only takes a split second for another accident to happen.
"We thought a month was long enough for people to have a tribute at the side of the road and at the end of the day we do have cemeteries where people can go at any time to put a floral tribute for their loved ones. That’s what they are there for."
The recommendation will now be considered by council chiefs, but has met with some anger.
Roseanne Kay, whose teenage son Callum was killed in a motorbike accident in 2003, said: "I think it’s absolutely disgusting. Every week I go and I put flowers down there, it’s very important. I understand what they are saying about road safety, but if it doesn’t pose a danger then why take it away? It’s like putting a time limit on how long you should be grieving for."
Most recent 2 of 9 user comments
I do not think we are hurting anybody and as far as we are concerned the scene of the incident is a fitting place to lay flowers, keep their memory alive (these are children we are talking about who had all their lives in front of them) and warn others of the danger so they do not have to go through what we go through everyday and will do for the rest of our lives.
The pain of losing a child is so unbearable and I believe if something is helping a bereaved parent in anyway and it is not causing any harm to anyone then what is the problem. I cannot understand how anybody can tell us different when they do not understand the depth of our grief. There will never become a day when we wake up thinking that they might not be here now anyway because they were old etc instead it will be they would have at Uni now, married, have children, grandchildren etc
I wish we could get on with our business everyday but I thought this is what we were trying to do. I do understand what you are trying to say and thank you but I just wish our lives could be that easy and simple.
I lost all my faith in the council when I lost my son and the treatment we received so it is hard for me to look at them as not being callous.
25/09/2008 at 14:59
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