Radical new idea for ‘Pothole Index’

LAST week I travelled to Haverfordwest. On the journey I hit many potholes that made me fear for my car. I was right to be worried. The next day, I had to purchase three new tyres.

The problem is money. Ceredigion is short of cash because the Welsh Government has less to distribute. This in turn is because Westminster gives out less, indeed, does not give out fairly.

The statistics highlight this, as I have demonstrated in previous letters.

We now have a new first minister. Unfortunately, we have not had any promises to obtain, at the very least, a judicial review, in order to challenge the present Barnett settlement and obtain Wales’ correct and fair allocation of funds. In addition, the appropriation of Wales’ Crown Estate income, obtained by violent conquest is, shamefully, allowed to persist. To return to the potholes. In the 1970s a measure of how civilised foreign countries were, a “Dead Dog” index was created. Namely, the more dead dogs seen by the roadside was a measure of the relative poverty of the civil infrastructure of a country.

In a similar vein, I propose a “Pothole Index”. The total depth or volume of potholes over a mile of road would be an excellent indicator of the status of the local civic infrastructure. An acronym could be “PDM”, for Pothole Depth per Mile, or for ease of use: PanDeMic. Returning to the canine theme, we have had too many friendly, tame pets at the helm in Cardiff Bay. It is about time we had a rabid terrier to fight Wales’ corner.

Sion Griffiths Trawsgoed, Aberystwyth