137 replies to this topic

[147]

There's a few in White Lion Rd.

That would be the understatement of the year. I drive halfway into the chevroned area, only coming back to the kerb for the pinchpoints to miss the holes.

[Eaton]

The worst stretch of road is on Moor Road, heading into Chesham just past the entrance into the car park for the open air pool. Thankfully it's a quiet road because everyone drives onto the wrong side of the road to get around the water leak, numerous potholes and loose tarmac which is along about 20 feet of road.

[hyposmurf]

That would be the understatement of the year. I drive halfway into the chevroned area, only coming back to the kerb for the pinchpoints to miss the holes.

Yeh Ive on occasions been trying to miss he potholes by altering my position on the road.Terrible, this shouldnt be the case!I realise this financial year that Bucks CC have been filling potholes,but I feel there are even more than last year when the budget had run out & they werent filling the potholes.How long before the Council start re tarmac-ing entire strips of road?

[Alan]

Yeh Ive on occasions been trying to miss he potholes by altering my position on the road.Terrible, this shouldnt be the case!I realise this financial year that Bucks CC have been filling potholes,but I feel there are even more than last year when the budget had run out & they werent filling the potholes.How long before the Council start re tarmac-ing entire strips of road?

Ultimately that's what they will have to do, as when the top surface breaks up and water gets into the lower level and freezes it breaks it up so much that nothing but a complete remake is going to cure it.

[hyposmurf]

How long will we have to wait,it could get to a point where they end up with multiple roads breaking up and needing resurfacing and not enough budget to cover it.Remember hearing a tourist saying"the roads are terrible here, I'm sure theyre better in Russia".She's probably not too far wrong!

[Desert Rose]

Since the cold weather at the early part of January the roads have got even worse. I work in Middlesex so drive there frequently, and often drive into Hertfordshire and it is clear that these two neighbouring counties pay more attention to their roads as the difference is noticeable as soon as you cross the border.

I agree with the point that the council should chase the utility companies more often, but it is the council's responsibility to be a bit more pro-active. Clearly in reading this thread it is falling to us residents of outlying areas (Amersham & Chesham) to report incidences of potholes. From my own experience of reporting something to Bucks CC I have had a good response, so perhaps we should all start to be a bit more vocal in our complaints?

[hyposmurf]

Since the cold weather at the early part of January the roads have got even worse. I work in Middlesex so drive there frequently, and often drive into Hertfordshire and it is clear that these two neighbouring counties pay more attention to their roads as the difference is noticeable as soon as you cross the border.

I agree with the point that the council should chase the utility companies more often, but it is the council's responsibility to be a bit more pro-active. Clearly in reading this thread it is falling to us residents of outlying areas (Amersham & Chesham) to report incidences of potholes. From my own experience of reporting something to Bucks CC I have had a good response, so perhaps we should all start to be a bit more vocal in our complaints?

Ive noticed that Herts has better roads to.Also as Aylesbury is included under Bucks all the new roads pUt down for the redevelopment works probably evens out the overall road quality in Bucks.Yes they should be more proactive chasing contractors.I also think it might help if many of us voiced our opinions to Bucks CC regarding the above.

[hyposmurf]

If anyone else knows of any potholes in our Bucks roads please go to this site and enter a fe details,doenst take long.
Report a pothole!

Even if we report the same potholes numerous times,maybe the council will start to take notice.It would be frustrating to find that potholes we are all fed up about dont get reported or dont get enough request and become low priority.

Since this last week of weather I have noticed that there ae many more potholes than before and also that areas that have broken down are on the perimeters of older patched potholes.

[hyposmurf]

Some good news regarding Berkhampsted Road.
I received a written reply after using the link above to report pothole issues on this road.Here's what it syas:

I have inspected this road and pothole repair works have been issued.Longer term more significant major maintenance works are being considered for 2009/2010.

Hopefully that means they will fill the potholes for now and then hopefully carry out resurfacing works for large sections of road/possibly resurface the entire road.

[Eaton]

£200,000 overspend on filling in potholes since the bad weather. One wonders when the council will eventually realise that part of the problem is the quality of the repairs and how much of that £200,000 is spent on filling the holes and how much in spray painting circles around them?? See report below:

http://www.bucksfree...n_road_repairs/

[Speedy]

Not a pothole, but the road directly outside my house is starting to subside. The freeze didn't help but it's mostly down to the excessive use of the road as a shortcut by hgv's (including articulated lorries), and commuter traffic. Think i'll get onto the council to put a weight restriction in place!

[hyposmurf]

£200,000 overspend on filling in potholes since the bad weather. One wonders when the council will eventually realise that part of the problem is the quality of the repairs and how much of that £200,000 is spent on filling the holes and how much in spray painting circles around them??

You can only keep patching up roads for a limited amount of time.I feel they are just looking at temporary fixes, hoping the quick fix is the best and most cost effective.Makes you wonder where all the road tax contributions are going?Maybe they think the potholes are a form of traffic calming.

[funkydoodycool]

I've started noticing a number of potholes forming along my drive into work. Funnily enough as has been said earlier, the roads in Herts certainly seem in better condition - I don't encounter any holes through Watford and Croxley, only start encountering them on the A404 once I get past Little Chalfont.

There's a couple of mean ones on White Lion Road approching the Amersham roundabout for Woodside Road, one is bad enough that the first time I saw it I had to swerve around it. Last year I lost a total of 3 tyres, and a wishbone to potholes around Amersham, mostly down the lanes where they were concealed by puddles and invisible. The one that took out the wishbone, I was very lucky not to lose an alloy wheel to it too.

The issue of the council spray painting them (as if they're not eay to spot) to mark which ones to fix doesn't surprise me. The water inlet for a house I lived in 5 years ago burst just before the stopcock (therefore the council's problem) and started to flood my kitchen. I had to wait 2 days for the council to come spray around the correct cover outside for our water supply, then another day for someone to come turn it off, then get a plumber in, and wait for the council to come back and turn our supply back on! Meanwhile I was mopping several gallons of water a day out the back door, and receiving notices telling me how to save water...

[hyposmurf]

Its a shame they dont just go out to main roads through towns, out of rush hour and start filling the road as they go along,rather than sending an inspector who sprays around the holes they think are worth filling and I guess the inspector has to write a report to on his findings, then maintenance are sent out.The holes that arent considered large enough,over time become larger anyway and then need to be filled at a later date.
For instance Berkhamsted road in Chesham is a majopr road through Chesham serving Amersham and other outlying areas.It has good vechiles and coaches going up and down it regularly, why didnt they spot the holes along this road sooner they have been in such a state since at least the beginning of last year.I realise they cant be inspecting every road in every town all the time, but this isnt just a short quiet road.

[David P]

Last year I lost a total of 3 tyres, and a wishbone to potholes around Amersham,

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, 'To lose one tyre may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness'. Three and a wishbone . . . ?

The water inlet for a house I lived in 5 years ago burst just before the stopcock (therefore the council's problem)

No, it's the water board's.

There seems to be a number of road engineering experts on this forum who believe that the council are deliberately failing to keep the roads in good repair. Can anyone explain what their motives might be? Do you believe that they should employ more people or more expensive experts? Do you think that they, themselves, are not affected by the same problems? Do you really believe you could do the job better?

As has been suggested before, instead of just moaning on this forum it would be far better to report the potholes to the council and then rely on some poor devil, who is probably even more fed up with them than you are, to do his best to juggle his budget and get them fixed.

[hyposmurf]

I'm just frustrated with the state of our roads.Ive reported numerous potholes, some get filled some don't and then a little while later more holes appear in the road surface.Just seems to be an ongoing thing, that is if anything deteriating.What is being done in other counties,such as Herts that have better roads that isnt being done in Bucks?Why is it when you go abroad to countries like Austria and Germany do you not run into as many shoddy roads as here?Maybe they pay higher road tax/road tolls, pay more attention to their roads or don't put up with as much as us.

I wouldnt mind the odd small pothole here and there,but some of them really shake the car about,to the point that I'm worried I'll end up with a damaged car.

[funkydoodycool]

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, 'To lose one tyre may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness'. Three and a wishbone . . . ?

Perhaps, but as I said the ones that got me tend to be down the lanes, and obscurred from view by the fact that a) its dark and they're full of water, and can't be distinguished from any old puddle.

There seems to be a number of road engineering experts on this forum who believe that the council are deliberately failing to keep the roads in good repair.

I certainly don't think they're deliberately keeping the roads this way, but many roads seem to be quite bad, to a point that occasionally dicey situations arise. I am also aware that the council workers are also road users, and as such affected by the same problems, in the same way that I am a train user and affected by delays and such, that are beyond my control, as much as the next person. As Hyposmurf says, its simply frustrating to see that the roads are allowed to stay so bad for sometimes a while before being repaired, especially when other towns and counties do have better road surfaces.

[MarkD]

If anyone else knows of any potholes in our Bucks roads please go to this site and enter a fe details,doenst take long.
Report a pothole!

I reported 2 huge potholes that I often hit on my way to work this morning before I left the house, and by 3:20 had received an email to tell me that they'd been inspected at 11:15 and both had been coned/taped off - one has had an order to repaired and one has had an order raised for plainings to be laid - now I wasn't expecting anything to be done for a while, due to the current blitz on potholes, so I'm quite impressed, but does anyone know what plainings are?

[David P]

The potholes in the lower part of Station Road have been filled today. There are still some in the middle section. Not sure about the top - I haven't been up there.

[hyposmurf]

Also its probably time that they are awaiting their new budget in April.So might be less being done until then.

[Fran]

The potholes in the lower part of Station Road have been filled today. There are still some in the middle section. Not sure about the top - I haven't been up there.

By this afternoon, virtually all the potholes in Station Road had been filled, which is a big improvement. However, they are the "quick and dirty" repairs, so although things are much better for now, they won't last very long. That's not necessarily a criticism: after the big increase in potholes after the winter weather, that might be the best solution, as long as they monitor the repairs and do them properly before things get really bad again.

[hyposmurf]

Was driving up White Hill yesterday coming to the peak of the hill, around a bend when another driver coming from the other direction was on my side of the road trying to a avoid a large pothole.Really quite shocking thought my personal lights were going to go out.

[Fran]

For all that we moan, apparently it's much worse up north, especially in Scotland. On the other hand, the conclusion is derived from insurance claims, so it may just be that the Scots are more inclined to claim for pothole damage.

See BBC story.

[Speedy]

A pothole was repaired outside my house this week, but they managed to only fill in three quarters of it

[hyposmurf]

Ive reported potholes in Herts and Bucks.There appears to be quite a difference in speed of repairs.Herts you wait at the most a couple of days,where as Bucks you can be waiting months.

[Fran]

A council in Essex is declining to fill (some) potholes on the basis that they are the "original traffic calming measures". You have to admint, they have a point (as long as you're only talking about small ones).

See article in The Times.

[hyposmurf]

Ive reported potholes in Herts and Bucks.There appears to be quite a difference in speed of repairs.Herts you wait at the most a couple of days,where as Bucks you can be waiting months.

and again Herts holes I reported were filled quickly and Bucks Im still waiting.Some of the unfilled holes were reported at the start of the year.Whats the problem?I thought they were waiting for the new budget but it cant be that now, I'm lost.

Yes traffic calming!Certainly does nothing for calming your patience driving over them very day.

[Bengley]

Being a cyclist myself I'm fed up of potholes and poor road surfaces. This tory council put barely any funding into the roads.

[hyposmurf]

Being a cyclist myself I'm fed up of potholes and poor road surfaces. This tory council put barely any funding into the roads.

I find it bad enough being a driver, considering the potholes being cyclist would be awful.There is a marked difference when you cross the border into herts council's area.They have potholes but no where near the number of potholes and they fill them alot quicker.Something isnt quite right with Bucks council's pothole filing.Either that or it wasnt a miss before and they are playing catch up,with previous lack of investment in the roads.

[roob_the_doob]

Surely it would be easier to say

Something isnt quite right with Bucks council...