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."
Showing comments 1 to 9 and replies | View All
sonya watton, ashton (24/09/2008 at 21:33)
If the council feels so strongly about road safety they should start with major issues like placing speed cameras where needed instead of statistical ones that just collect data that goes no where and fixing the roads properly instead of just patching them up here and there and then maybe the T signs that could be a distraction to motorists and don’t even make people aware of anything of importance.
Just leave us to get on with grieving in our own way
Sonya
Voice of Sanity (25/09/2008 at 11:20)
Callum'sMum, stalybridge (25/09/2008 at 12:37)
I really feel that this is just an excuse because Tameside hate portraying a poor image of themselves and they should be called ‘The Uncaring Council’ because they do not care what feelings and hurt they cause to people on the way as long as they can hide behind their deception. Also, if they are not making money out of something then they are not interested in what the people of Tameside want.
Removing dead flowers at the scene is something that we automatically do when we put up fresh flowers and putting flowers up is not a one-of and something we can walk away from and forget about because our grieving lasts a lifetime just like the love with have for our children.
Thank God Councillor Peter Robinson wasn’t our Funeral Director because he has no compassion whatsoever.
If we were paying the council to put up flowers or wanted to put advertiser notice up on a railing would they still be acting the same? Maybe they have been thinking about more ways they can rip the people of Tameside off and thought of the idea that if flowers are not removed after a month then they can earn money from fining us.
Like you Sonya I think that it opens people eyes and makes them more aware of what has happened and what can happen and to drive more carefully.
Leave us to grieve in peace and just remember that nobody is immortal. ‘Fatalities on ‘Tameside Roads’ no it doesn’t happen in Tameside! Or this is what they council want people to believe so they can yet another illusory award.
Callum'sMum, stalybridge (25/09/2008 at 12:46)
it should say an advertisement not advertiser notice
thanks
roseanne
LittleMancMinx, Ashton Under Lyne (25/09/2008 at 12:59)
I agree with Sonia that it does make you more aware when you are driving cause you see these tributes and it makes you think that it could easily be you if you are not carefull.
I think they council should leave well alone, if I see anyone of these council workers touching the tributes then I will feel the need to stop and say something to them!
Jim Goodwin (25/09/2008 at 13:34)
But I think there has to be a little perspective here.
What the council are doing is not banning people from leaving tributes at the scene of an accident. All they are doing is asking people after a month to move the focus of grieving to somewhere more private and fitting, ie. a grave or cemetery plot.
This isn't being callous, it is simply being balanced and reasonable.
I don't think it's reasonable to expect the council to allow people to create permanent memorials to people wherever someone dies in a public place. People simply can't have the freedom to take public land and create their own grieving space. If that was allowed nearly every road and junction would eventually have one, there would be hundreds across the town.
The point is that these are public places, and I believe that a good number of the public don't want to be faced with memorials as they go about their business every day. That's not because they're callous to what's happened, it's simply that they feel uncomfortable with 'public grieving' and that such things should be confined to more private settings.
Of course relatives should be able to pay their tributes at the scene of an accident in the immediate aftermath. But it's perfectly fair to suggest that with cemeteries provided in order for people to grieve for loved ones, they should be the more appropriate, long-term place to pay respects.
bridgeblue, stalybridge (25/09/2008 at 13:36)
you obviously come on here to annoy people.get a life.There is no time limit on grief.
Callum'sMum, stalybridge (25/09/2008 at 14:59)
I am so sorry that you have lost love ones through tragic circumstances and if I appear derogatory in anyway in my reply I do not mean to, I am just trying to explain our side and how devastating it would be for us if they stop us putting up flowers.
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.
reg007, ashton (30/09/2008 at 01:42)