Hole lot of cash
Council ‘ wasting money’ on patching up Ayr road
A pensioner this week claimed his street has the worst road surface in South Ayrshire.
Following the Post’s Pothole Patrol campaign, Hugh Cowan contacted us to nominate West Sanquhar Road, Ayr, as one of the most crumbling roads in the local authority area.
The 75- year- old challenged councillors to drive more than a yard along the road without hitting a piece of raised tarmac or a pothole.
Now he is calling for Ayrshire Roads Alliance to stop wasting taxpayers’ money and fix the road properly.
He said: “This road has been patched twice in the last two years.
“It is a complete waste of money.
“It is clear the council or government are paying good money for road maintenance but who is benefiting?
“Obviously the road surfacing companies as it is certainly not the public.
“I don’t think the council inspect the work being done by these companies.
“I challenge local councillors to drive more than a yard on West Sanquhar Road without hitting a piece of raised tarmac or a pothole.”
Fed- up Mr Cowan said if the potholes were fixed properly, rather than patched, no one would need to come back to fix them.
He has lived in Ayr since he was a young boy and is making it his goal to get some answers, having had to put three new suspension springs in his car in the last 12 months.
Mr Cowan is also complaining about speeding in the street and has taken the matter up with local councillors but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
He added: “I said to the councillor about the speed of cars on this road and then they carried out some sort of investigation but they never got back to me with the outcome of that so I just don’t see a point in saying anything this time to the councillors.”
Following the Post’s intervention Stewart Turner, head of the Ayrshire Roads Alliance, insisted the road will be repaired.
“Prior to this gentleman’s complaint we had identified the road surface along West Sanquhar Road as likely to need resurfacing work inside the next 24 months due to surface wear,” he added.
“We inspected the road again on Friday, March 16, and will undertake a series of repairs to address the issues raised, as well as making a commitment to monitoring the road closely until we can carry out the scheduled resurfacing.”