Potholes!
Everyone’s favourite
subject. Nothing seems to unite disparate groups than the quality of our
roads. I sometimes think if we took some of the world’s most complex
situations and asked the groups to sit down and discuss potholes,
they’d see everyone hits common ground at some point.
Everyone’s favourite
subject. Nothing seems to unite disparate groups than the quality of our
roads. I sometimes think if we took some of the world’s most complex
situations and asked the groups to sit down and discuss potholes,
they’d see everyone hits common ground at some point.
What is an irritant to a car driver is
a huge risk to a cyclist. Cars typically weigh a couple of tonnes, and
if they hit a pothole they have to be going pretty fast to do damage.
Cyclists, on the other hand, typically weigh in at around
100kg including bike, and a pothole causes no end of risks. For
example, our very own Broadway has had some patchy repairs done to it.
These still present what amount to a crevasse to a cyclist, and have
done little to improve our safety. Car drivers, though,
will love the repair as they will bounce off the patches.
If people think this is just
hyperbole, just last week Mark Warren, the admin for Inside Mill Hill,
was undertaking his usual commute home along the A41 through Hendon and
Golders Green. He hit a pothole and came off. The resultant crash
meant a trip to A&E, which was followed up a week later with three
days laying in a corridor due to blood poisoning. It’s no understatement
to say he’s lucky to be alive.
Mark, as is the way of the world, took
to twitter to highlight the issue. At first, he underwent a round of
“he said, she said” between TfL and the council as to whose
responsibility the maintenance was. It took a minor twitter storm (https://twitter.com/Marky_War/status/1093422665656881152)
for TfL to admit it was their road and to fix it (rapidly I must admit).
In the cold light of day, I and a
group of like minded friends at the Barnet Cycling Campaign, decided to
look into what the actual process is for getting these nuisances fixed.
We wrote to TfL and have just today also written to the council.
TfL’s response has been built into a handy blog here
https://barnetlcc.org/making-roads-safer/ and the council are looking to chase up on issues reported.
To save you a little bit of effort (it’s not that much but I love to help!):
- TfL are responsible for the roads on this map https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/red-routes/red-route-maps. Anything else – go to Barnet
- TfL monitor and track issues reported via FillThatHole (https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/authority/transport-london) and can also be contacted via the customer services email address
- Contrary to some people’s belief, TfL do engage via Twitter and will take issue reports via it. Feel free to Tweet them. You don’t even need the right TfL account – they see them as a safety concern and will act on the information
- Report to Barnet via https://www.barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/report-a-problem.html AND https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
- Whether Barnet monitor Fill That Hole is irrelevant. The Barnet site is not in the public record, and the council can avoid liability claims. This is why they don’t want you to use Fill That Hole – it the issue in the public record with a timeframe on it. Log on both, storing the council reference to show that you have reported the issue.
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Jon Klaff is a Barnet resident and a member of the Barnet Cycling Campaign. Guest blogs are always welcome.
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