Some reports of highway defects are being knocked back with “no further action required” responses this year.
One of the deficiencies of the Councils “report it on line” system is that no reason for inaction is given. There was a time when a pothole might go unfilled because it didn’t meet what were styled “the Councils intervention level”. Basically they weren’t judged to be deep enough.
Eventually frost damage would, of course, ensure that it did become bad enough to justify filling.
But there are some very uneven roads which are, perversely, being judged as safe these days
Morrell Court access road potholes which are not judged to require attention
Council officials are also reluctant to send warning letters to drivers who have damaged verges, even when it is obvious who is responsible,
Verges need hard-surfacing to prevent damage
One piece of better news, with local Councillors reporting that work on finishing drainage work on the Osprey Close footpath will recommence shortly. The footpath may be diverted around the worst of the mud with further repairs to the land drains taking place when the area dries out.
Public Right of Way blocked at top of Osprey Close
Hedges need cutting back during winterMore potholesSnickets need sweepingVerges need tidying up and damaged equipment replaced. Fly tipping needs removingAnother one for the new graffiti removal teamAcomb Moor damaged stile still not repaired. We understand that local Councillors are dealingCouncil bus shelters are filthy
Gale Lane carriageway breaking up. The section is only a few metres away from the area that was resurfaced a few months ago. The Council really should have resurfaced as far as the junctionWidespread damage to verges and speed humps in the Kingsway area blamed on heavy building plant. The Newbury Avenue bungalows should be finished at the end of the year so hopefully some repairs will then take place. Dumped fridge in hedgerow at Chesney FieldMore dumping in back Foxwood Lane& again in the little Green Lane garage areaGraffiti in Howe Street area. This will prove to be a test of the Councils new graffiti removal processes which were implemented a few weeks ago. Still a lot of leaf fall in some streets. This is Windsor Garth. Streets now need mechanical sweeping before mulch becomes embedded.Litter in hedgerows near Doherty Walk. The Councils street cleansing systems still aren’t working with problems on several estates and at some shopping centres.More litter!
The Council was told this week that it needed to investment more in road maintenance. That has been obvious for over 5 years following budget cuts in the early part of this decade.
Frost is now accelerating the deterioration in places such as Foxwood Lane and Bellhouse Way.
It is important that issues are reported to the Council.
If you use the Councils “report it on line” system it will generate a reference number automatically.
This helps to identify the issue if you have to follow it up later.
The system doesn’t produce update reports for highways issues in the same way that litter, graffiti and fly tipping are automatically tracked. Progress on these types of issues can be viewed in the residents personalised issue folder after you log in.
Potholes on Foxwood Lane. Report ref; 191212-000048
A reporton highway maintenance in the City reveals that the value of the current back log of maintenance is approximately one hundred and twelve million (£112 million) based on the current condition and cost of repairs.
The figure confirms what many residents had feared. The
condition of York’s roads and footpaths is continuing to decline
A separate annex reveals that, in most parts of the City, between 3% and 10% of carriageways are rated as “structurally impaired”. These are “very poor”, the lowest condition rating.
The percentage of roads classified as “very poor” hasincreased in every wardin the City during the last 3 years.
The figures also confirm that the City’s roads have not recovered from the draconian maintenance cuts imposed by the then Labour administration in 2012.
More recently the new LibDem/Green led Council has substantially increased the resources allocated to highway maintenance.
The figure also includes a delegated budget to be determined at ward level. There is little evidence that this money has so far been invested*.
The report says that from 1st April 2019 until 26th November
2019, the council has completed “16,646.3 m² of pothole repairs, this equates to
520 m² per week, this is 29.71 m² per day, per gang”.
This can be compared with the same period in 2018 when the
council completed “7,586.4 m² of pothole repairs, this equates to 237 m² per
week, with training etc. that was 18.9 m² per gang, per day”
Some of the parties vying for votes at the General Election are promising to fill in all potholes. Government funding has been consistently low in recent years.
We doubt that central government appreciates the scale of the backlog in maintenance work which currently exists
*Each ward also has a share of a £500,000 fund earmarked for improvements for “cyclists and pedestrians”. So far suggestions from residents for the use of this fund – for example to reduce ponding problems on routes across amenity areas – have produced little positive response from officials
The York Council is being urged to get on with patching works on roads which are already damaged. Failure to act soon could result in the surfaces breaking up as frost takes its toll.
Kingswood Grove Uneven carriageway on Queenswood Grove
The Council are making good progress on the large resurfacing job on Gale Lane which should be finished by the end of the week
Generally public service standards on Council housing estates in the centre of the City have been better than those experienced in the suburbs.
This is probably because core services (highway maintenance, street cleansing, grass cutting, graffiti removal etc) are more in the public eye. Consequently issues are more likely to be reported.
However there are exceptions. There is emerging evidence that service level agreement standards are not being met.
The Hope Street/Long Close Lane area has its fair share of issues. Principal among them is of course the long term empty Willow House building. Lack of progress by the Council in selling the building – which could provide housing for dozens of people – is shameful
As well as Wlllow House, damaged street signs, graffiti and weed growth are issues in the Hope Street area.
Elsewhere the Groves area also has its fair share of problems
Graffiti on Groves LaneLitter near the shops on Lowther StreetGraffiti on garage door in St Thomas’ PlaceA lot of potholes are emerging. They are particularity hazardous for cyclists. This one is on March Street (and has been reported)
Winter will be with us soon now and with it the risk of icy weather. Frost damage, to a poorly maintained highway surface, can be devastating making expensive reconstruction work inevitable.
Residents are being urged to report any potholes so that they can receive attention. There is rightly some scepticism amongst residents with reported highway defects often marked up with paint but then seemingly left for months before work is undertaken
Pedestrians should take care when using the Tithe Close/Tedder Road snicket. A potentially hazardous thorn branch is overhang the path at eye height.The Reeves snicket is also being obstructed. We’ve reported the increase in litter in the area.Even more overgrown is the snicket link from Gale Lane to Bachelor Hill. More dumped rubbish also reported.Although attractive, the roses on Dickson park also need trimming back from the footpathSimilar problems on Askham LanePotholes a problem for cyclists at the Dijon Avenue/Lowfield Drive junctionAt the same location there is little evidence of weed treatment.
Some potholes in York, reported weeks ago, have still not been filled. This is the time of year when the Council normally catches up on the pothole backlog which can develop during periods of icy weather.
The York Council doesn’t provide “real time” updates on the number of highway defect reports it receives and the progress made in addressing them, but there is a suspicion that some are written off without any action being taken.
Fortunately the LibDems, who lead the new administration at West Offices, promised in their election manifesto “to reconstruct all roads in York”.
Even allowing for hyperbole, that is a very expensive looking promise. Perhaps Council officials had better get on with drawing up a work programme?
Herman Walk potholes on access roadCorlett Court potholes (marked but not repaired)Morrell Court has n uneven road
