I have seen some reports lately in the local news about the poor state of the roads around here.
Not only are the roads being left to fall to pieces, what little cycle infrastructure we have is going the same way too.
The picture is of a large crack in the cycle path that runs alongside the Welland, in the area that passes behind the old fire station on Double Street.
The crack is large enough for me to fit my bicycle tyre into.
As you may be aware, a large crack is much more dangerous to cyclists than vehicles.
Generally, after hitting something like this a vehicle may suffer some sort of damage which brings with it the inconvenience of a breakdown and a cost to fix.
If a cyclist was to get a wheel stuck in a crack like this they would potentially fall off the bike and become injured or worse, as well as suffering damage to property which requires fixing or replacing.
In this example, they could also end up in the river.
With all of the noise about the roads lately (including the recent special photo opportunity of people pointing at the road), I think it only fair that issues with the cycle infrastructure are put into the limelight too. This is only one example of many failings around the area, but it’s a relevant one, what with all of this talk of cracks.
I reported this issue via Fix My Street on August 21 2022. The response I received (which can be seen on the Fix My Street website) was as follows: ‘We acknowledge your concerns and accept that the highway has deteriorated in condition. We have assessed the fault in accordance with our Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan and it does not require urgent action. If the fault deteriorates significantly please report this again to us. Thank you for reporting this matter.’
I find it quite ridiculous that something like this which is so blatantly dangerous is being left until it deteriorates further.
The council/highways should be doing more here and making an effort to fix this issue.
On a side note, that length of cycle path is in a poor state and needs some attention anyway. But, as it’s a cycle and pedestrian route, it doesn’t seem to be a priority.
Ben Sear
via email
