ADD        The Nottingham Ethic

Reverse engineering is the process of taking a thing to pieces to see how it is put together.  This can apply to both hard metal devices or philosophical concepts.  In the latter case it is generally the only way one can deduce what the policy of an organisation is.  For instance, the Nottingham City Council does not publish its philosophy for dealing with problems.  One has to reverse-engineer the process of what happens on the ground to deduce what the in-house policy is.

In the case of actual hardware, both Britain and Germany pounced on shot-down aircraft to examine them thoroughly to learn if the enemy had thought of something that they had overlooked.  I am going to do that with what I see of the City Council's activities.

I will give you my conclusions first and then explain how I came to those conclusions.  I have deduced that the Council Policy is to act if they find that there is a problem.  And the action they take has a political dimension in that they do something to alleviate or cure the problem, they make sure that the maximum number of people are aware that they have taken action so that they cannot be accused of ignoring the problem.  I give a few examples:

There have been examples of motorists driving too fast through residential areas.  So the Council have spent huge sums of money erection humps, bumps. tables and cushions (what a ridiculous name).  I refer to the plethora of elevated highway obstructions, often referred to as "The Nottingham Alps".  Everybody in Nottingham is aware that "the Council has addressed the problem".  The fact that the real culprits are not deterred from dangerous driving, and the law abiding drivers get their vehicles damaged, or that ambulance passengers get injured, is part of the policy.  You know that the problem has been addressed!

As this Wollaton Park Estate is a virtually closed island encircled by a huge crescent road, if you want to enter of leave the estate you have to join the ringroad traffic.  And that can be a real problem in rush hour when the Ring Road gives a good impression of the M1  Some previous administration put a pedestrian alley from the main crescent road (Sutton Passeys Crescent) into a cul de sac that leads to another part of the City to the north.  This alleyway reduces about a mile walk to fifty yards.  Recently a motor-cyclist was seen riding through the alleyway.  The Council leapt into action and erected a most strange structure that stops such antisocial behaviour.  Again they did it in a way that everybody who uses the alley can't possible fail to notice.  Aren't we good boys!

Now, of course, even pedestrians have to sidle through the the inverted "V" structure.  It completely stops perambulators and two-child buggies from passing.  I can just squeeze through if I have the arms of my mobility scooter lowered.  Everybody is aware that the Council have acted!