Letter to Editor: Why are councils painting white lines over potholes?
General / Thu 15th Jun 2023 at 07:05am
ON the same day Robert Halfon and his cohorts wax lyrical about how well they are doing in getting potholes fixed I encountered the latest crazy manifestation of these works.
On Tuesday night First Ave was closed for works including repainting the white lines and junction markers. As the sun rose on Wednesday it revealed one of the huge potholes at the junction of First Ave and Maddox Rd had been adorned with a new white line through the centre of it!
What level of madness is this?
Will we see the pothole filled next week as part of the claimed programme repairs includes Maddox Rd?
If we do, they’ll then need to send the white lining team around again to paint over the repair.
As Messrs Halfon, Hardware, Souter, Garnett, Johnson and Swords are so keen to claim the credit for these works will they be equally keen to own the sheer incompetence of this process?
In late April we saw potholes being filled on First Ave in a blatant attempt to con voters into thinking they cared just ahead of the May elections, in the past week there has been extensive resurfacing on the same road areas. What a ludicrous waste of money doing things twice!
As for the claims of having secured deals and agreements to get these works done, why is there a need for such things? Essex County Council are responsible for maintaining our roads and should be doing so as matter of course, they increase our Council Tax every year yet deliver nothing. They should not require coercion from this group of tories who have, for years, failed to challenge ECC on this matter.
I can’t wait to see how they’ll try to justify this latest shambles!
Cllr James Griggs
Labour – Netteswell
Stan
2023-06-15 08:07:29
ECC take about 71% of our council tax and have a large number of staff on excessive salaries. Yet for years now they have failed us and those Councillors have let us down badly - enough is enough. ECC needs complete reform from top down.
jo
2023-06-15 15:56:09
totally agree with stan , they take the money and waste it , the money they take for the paint for white lines they could spend a couple of quid more and fill it , its okay they get there payrises tho for doing absolutely nothing for the repairs of roads or homes
Nick Gunning
2023-06-15 16:34:36
The potholes are protected as ancient monuments? They're not even bothering about potholes in the pavements. They might not look much, but together with reduced lighting they're a real danger, as I know to my cost. A few months ago I was tripped by a pothole I didn't see because the only light was on the other side of the road and part hidden by a tree. The system of potholes along that stretch of pavement by Harlow's United reform Church is extensive. Knees, head, eyes, hands all bleeding. I reported the incident, with photographs, via email address (carefully hidden on the website) and have had no response, nor has any repair or marking off been done. The steps leading down to the Aldi supermarket were wrecked. I reported that too. Several weeks later some sticky tape was stretched across the entrance- which immediately became attached to nearby bushes. The broken paving slabs were partly put back- but neither fixed nor made safe. It's time repairs were done, and the bug increase in council tax needs to go there, before the dodgy projects with the property speculators and party donors!
Rob Taylor
2023-06-15 18:46:35
Cycling out of Harlow in the sticks towards Chelmsford they have holes the size of house bricks but not as deep filled regularly, these are country roads ( less traffic) as you get closer and closer to Harlow the suitcase sized holes start to appear and progress steadily to tank traps everywhere , some are lethal and have been there almost a year. I’m not just a cyclist but a driver as well, the damage / accidents they could cause seems to go unnoticed by anyone who is supposed to inspect and maintain the roads in a safe way. ECC has a duty to maintain safe roads and it’s obviously failing where Harlow is concerned.
Rob Taylor
2023-06-15 18:50:55
Cycling out of Harlow in the sticks towards Chelmsford they have holes the size of house bricks but not as deep filled regularly, these are country roads ( less traffic) as you get closer and closer to Harlow the suitcase sized holes start to appear and progress steadily to tank traps everywhere , some are lethal and have been there almost a year. I’m not just a cyclist but a driver as well ECC has a duty to maintain safe roads and it’s obviously failing where Harlow is concerned.
Kim Oconnor
2023-06-18 09:56:28
Harlow is dangerous for cycling. Unsafe for wheel chair s, because of people parking on paths. Unsafe pathways, broken . Theses councils are all about regeneration regeneration, while the rest of Harlow falls apart. Oh and the pot holes out side my house, which are huge and dangerous, we're painted months ago, but never returned to fix. Mind you the fixing of pot holes I've seen round town have been patched and cheap way of doing them, disgraceful. The public pay for roads.
Nostradamus
2023-06-19 08:45:14
Pot holes are the new speed control devices! Painting them confirms as permanent.
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