Doctors couldn’t reach their patients, nurses were stuck on the roadside awaiting recovery and essential services were disrupted thanks to our pot-holed roads. What an unholy mess!
Is Surrey sinking – just like the Titanic?
Last year, half a million potholes were reported to local councils, and it certainly feels to us, that most of them are in Surrey. The crumbling state of Surrey’s roads was the topic of conversation over many Christmas get-togethers. Visitors to the county were astounded by the state of our roads. “If this is wealthy prosperous Surrey – then come to the West,” said one.
As most of those who claimed they had suffered ripped tyres, hadn’t actually reported incidents, because it takes up too much time and effort, that half a million figure is not the true picture. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Some who had claimed were refused compensation for reasons which, they couldn’t understand.
Some roads in Surrey are now being avoided altogether as the routes are so dangerous as the frequency of resurfacing has declined. Others are being re-surfaced in parts, lulling motorists into a sense of false security as the drive in a stop-go fashion. Why would any sensible highway engineer deem it sensible to resurface a strip of a hundred yeards or so, and then leave a pot-holed length and then resurface another short stretch further along?
It is one thing for those travelling into Surrey from further afield to have their time with family and friend ruined by smashed tyres, it is quite another when wards, surgeries and clinics, even ambulances and fire engines cannot be properly manned, due to broken down vehicles.
And, it is no excuse for our supposedly cash-strapped local authorities to say they just don’t have the money to repair our roads properly, when they are using OUR money to fund developments like Farnham’s East Street to provide the town with 28 more shops! Is it?
Shops are closing… all around us… Merry Christmas everyone.
Local Authorities are not cash strapped they are just unaccountable, secretive, delivering Developers’ Chief Executives’ eye-watering bonuses and hopelessly inefficient.
Our apologies. They are not cash-strapped, they just keep on telling us they are cash-strapped and if they say it often enough they hope we will all believe them.