Get the basics right before you move on to the fancy stuff...
AS a lifelong resident of this city am I the only one who is concerned about the increasingly neglected, unkempt and generally disgusting state of the place we call home? It is the worst I can ever remember
Leaving aside the caravan issue on the Downs, where the predicament of those living there seems to be counterbalanced by the potential for a significant hygiene and public health issue, the following must be of concern to many:
(i) the ever increasing number of potholes where the council is unable or unwilling to properly tackle the issue.
(ii) the significant number of drainage gullies in the gutter which are either completely blocked or have significant growth of weeds coming out of the them. The council seems to have abandoned a regular programme of gully cleansing, leaving a risk of significant flooding from any prolonged, severe downpour.
(iii) the significant number of road markings that have virtually disappeared or are extremely faded, the latter being extremely difficult to see at night or when wet. This includes lane and junction markings as well as “keep clear” boxes and yellow box junctions. Again the council seem to have totally abandoned a planned programme of re-marking. Surely this is a significant road safety issue?
(iv) the apparent, complete abandonment of any sort of green space maintenance apart from some perfunctory grass cutting, We have trees and bushes growing over pavements affecting pedestrians and obliterating road signs, excessive weed growth in gutters and on traffic islands, and the failure to cut verges at roadside junctions so that you are trying to look over 3 - 4 foot high grass and weeds to see oncoming traffic. The same applies to central reservations on such as Anton Bantock Way where you are unable to see the pedestrian refuges because of the overgrown state. It is a similar situation in Falcondale Road and the approaches to Cribbs Causeway, albeit a large part is in South Glos. In terms of the safe driving acronym, COAST, the Observation and Anticipation elements go straight out of the window!
I know many years of austerity have led to major cutbacks in local government expenditure, with the statutory services such as children and adult social care taking an increasing proportion of the cake, leaving non-statutory services to bear the brunt of reductions. However my understanding was that revenue raised from fixed penalty notices and traffic and parking fines could only be used for transport purposes.
If I am correct, then surely all of (i) to (iv) above should fall within that criteria and be a priority? In addition, if the exploratory studies for the “pie in the sky” underground system were met from revenue rather than capital expenditure, surely those funds would have been better spent on the above, as would the funds earmarked for changes to traffic flows in the Broadmead area.
Essentially, get the basics right before you move on to the fancy stuff.
Richard Powell Whitchurch