The Pitfalls Of Potholes
Two things have got me thinking in the last few days. The first was my nearly getting run over my some mad cyclist charging, hell for leather, along a very narrow bit of pavement, and shouting at me for being in the way, the second was our very own Stevie going arse-over-tit in one of Evelyn Street's finest potholes. "I was sent over the handlebars only then to collide with a obstinate bus stop," he says.
His note to me was really to thank the six cyclists who stopped and the people at the bus stop who also helped with tissues, baby wipes "and a very timely plaster from a young man called Greg," and to apologise if he bled on anyone.
He reassures me that "the gash to my forehead was really not so bad as it would have appeared and the kindly Helen at Lewisham Hospital was able to glue it up rather than resorting to stitches," but it's got me to thinking.
I don't think my crazy pavement-monger and Stevie's accident are unrelated. Greenwich and Lewisham councils aren't by any means the only councils that have whopping great potholes all over the main roads, but that doesn't absolve them from not addressing them.
I'm told that the big routes into town are utterly riddled with disasters waiting to happen, and that's driving some people onto the pavements, ready to knock down unsuspecting Phantoms.
I wonder - with all these new 'Greenwich clean-up' teams that Greenwich Time newspaper shamelessly bigs-up every bloomin' week , can't some of the cheery guys in turquoise sweatshirts be promoted to being a dedicated pothole filling gang?
They could target the main roads, that get used by hundreds of cyclists, (at quiet times, natch, - i.e. not rush hour) and fill 'em in quickly, bish-bosh, tidy job guv. I'm not really looking for perfection here - just a relatively smooth lane for people to ride in so that they might be tempted off the pavement and out of my way.
Surely the money they'd not have to fork out in court settlements, not to mention the savings the NHS would make on sticky plasters would pay for it?
His note to me was really to thank the six cyclists who stopped and the people at the bus stop who also helped with tissues, baby wipes "and a very timely plaster from a young man called Greg," and to apologise if he bled on anyone.
He reassures me that "the gash to my forehead was really not so bad as it would have appeared and the kindly Helen at Lewisham Hospital was able to glue it up rather than resorting to stitches," but it's got me to thinking.
I don't think my crazy pavement-monger and Stevie's accident are unrelated. Greenwich and Lewisham councils aren't by any means the only councils that have whopping great potholes all over the main roads, but that doesn't absolve them from not addressing them.
I'm told that the big routes into town are utterly riddled with disasters waiting to happen, and that's driving some people onto the pavements, ready to knock down unsuspecting Phantoms.
I wonder - with all these new 'Greenwich clean-up' teams that Greenwich Time newspaper shamelessly bigs-up every bloomin' week , can't some of the cheery guys in turquoise sweatshirts be promoted to being a dedicated pothole filling gang?
They could target the main roads, that get used by hundreds of cyclists, (at quiet times, natch, - i.e. not rush hour) and fill 'em in quickly, bish-bosh, tidy job guv. I'm not really looking for perfection here - just a relatively smooth lane for people to ride in so that they might be tempted off the pavement and out of my way.
Surely the money they'd not have to fork out in court settlements, not to mention the savings the NHS would make on sticky plasters would pay for it?
Labels: cycling
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
08:11
21 Comments:
Agree wholeheartedly.
My husband regularly commutes into town and often says he's narrowly escaped a fall due to potholes all over the road. It's extremely dangerous for already vulnerable cyclists and not brilliant for cars either.
To stray from the original topic..
Has anyone actually seen the 'Greenwich Clean Up Team' do anything?? I see them in couples on a daily basis usually sipping a can of Red Bull or cup of coffee looking rather bored and cold but have never actually witnessed any of them putting their 'skills' (which are??) to use. Seems like a real waste of resources to pay for two individuals to basically walk around the streets all day looking for something to do. Or maybe theres more to it that i am not aware of. Sounds like they have been heavily publicised in Greenwich Time newspaper, of which i don't read, but not really anywhere else.
I saw the Greenwich Clean-up Team (or "Community Service" as it used to be called)arguing over a van-load of wheelie bins this morning. They were getting quite heated. Normally they can be found moving fallen leaves about the place and abusing members of the public.
On the cycling note, as a cyclist it does pay to read the road and compensate for potholes by shifting your weight. If you don't keep a look out for everything you'll come a cropper.
Hope your mate is feeling better GP, its great that so many cyclists stopped to help! Tell him to visit fillthathole if he has already not done it.
I have to say that the pothole situation is far worse in the boroughs north of Lewisham and Greenwich, but overall it is a huge problem in the UK. It is also compounded when they remedy the potholes: they slap on some treatment which has the consistency of porridge, after 2 months it starts to crack and then it breaks down so that the original pothole reappears!
What a heartwarming way to support those people on the Greenwich Clean Up team who are doing a job that most people would turn their noses up at. Lovely.
It is I, Stevie, of the pothole mishap. Firstly, let me say that I am a cyclist who has been commuting on a daily basis for some ten years.
So, pardon my appalling pun, but I THOUGHT I was more than aware of the possible pitfalls and DO have a good idea of what to avoid and how to read the road!
As it was, last Thursday had been exceptionally rainy and all the potholes were full of water so the nasty ones were indistinguishable from the less nasty ones.
Furthermore, not being one for splashes, I had gone on the outside of the apparent puddle, but still it drew me down the hole the chasm been almost three inches deep.
I was back there on Sunday to take pictures, but the hole had been filled, and a damn good thing too. However, there was no shortage of similar holeage to photograph by way of illustration, including one hole that was 4 inches deep!! Yes, I was armed with my tape measure!
A friend suggested that I go to one of those 'I've had a dreadful, life-changing accident' brokers to sue the council.
Well, yes, I intend to make a claim against Lewisham Council who have an established producedure for such incidents, but no, I will not for one moment have some bunch of ambulance-chasers make hay out of my misfortune.
Glad to know Stevie that the hole has been filled. I agree, no matter how much experience you have as a cyclist, if you cannot see the pothole then there is a good chance that you and/or your bike are going to get damaged.
Good luck with your claim against Lewisham Council - may I suggest that you contact Carole Crankshaw (Cycling Officer) at Lewisham Council, she should be able to help.
I went to watch the Lord Mayor's Show last weekend, and about an hour before the parade started a tarmac lorry drove slowly along the route with a pair of walkers with shovels, who patched up potholes on-the-fly as they spotted them.
It would be great to have some kind of similar patrol occasionally at night when the roads are quiet - and I'm sure that would be more cost efficient than dispatching a team to fill potholes as and when they're reported.
Very bad luck, Stevie, it sounds as though it was a painful start to the day. Strangely though - I was cycling on Evelyn Street yesterday - it's really not the worst of roads around here.
But when there's standing water, you really have no idea whether it's merely shallow or hiding a crater. And that's where the puncture fairy hides so if the pothole doesn't get you, the fairy will.
I hope you didn't end up with a buckled front wheel to add to the bad luck by forcing you onto public transport and a bill for replacing it.
A few years ago a small bit of the busy road outside our house started to break down and caused a man-hole cover to bang loudly whenever a car went over it.
I called the council in the afternoon and there was a gang of workmen over the very next morning (a saturday even) to fix it, no fuss and no questions asked. I was very impressed actually.
I know it's not ideal but maybe we can give these guys a hand and report the holes as we see them?
In retrospect, while I was able to go to the work the following day and that kind of thing, the accident has left me knocked for six. Not to mention the most frightening black eye which reaches fully an inch around the outside of my eye.
I mean, this is a capa de bruise. The kind that has fearful mothers calling their kids in from the street while I walk past, street corner hoodies asking me to carry my bag and BNP members trying to sign me up.
I commute from Greenwich to Soho and there are some pot holes on my routes that could swallow a bike wheel (sort of), especially along the Old Kent Rd.
It's not usually a big problem in dry weather, but as Stevie says it's when it rains and you can't see which puddles are innocent and which conceal potholes. You can't really go around them as there's usually a steady flow of heavy traffic, the only option is to go through them and hope for the best.
It seems that the redish tarmac material wears especially badly.
By the way Phantom, I apologies on behalf of the g*t of a cyclist who shouted at you to get out of his way while on the pavement?!?
I see this sort of behaviour on a daily basis from some cyclists and it makes my blood boil!
All I can say is try not to blame cyclists in general, these people are just imbeciles on a bike and will be equally imbecillic as a pedestrian, at work and behind the wheel of a car.
I dont understand why people are attacking the Cleansweep teams. I, like Maritime Greenwich, think it is totally uncalled for.
Not only are the streets a lot cleaner since they have hit the streets, in my opinion, some of the moaners on here are forgetting the source of the problem.
We would not need most of our street cleaners if the lazy scum who drop their litter on the streets actually put it in the many bins available - or just took it home.
Have you ever heard of the old adage prevention is better than cure?
Communication via comments - heh ...
Stevie/Latelygay - if you need a witness to support any sort of claim, I'm your man. I'm the motorcyclist who stopped: I had a perfect view of the whole thing as I was passing you when it happened.
I'm sure the Phantom can pass an email address in your direction if you want it: glad you're not *too* badly damaged by what looked quite nasty.
(I'm assuming you were the chap who landed face-first in (well, nearly in) a baby's buggy at that bus stop - if you weren't then there were two practically identical incidents that evening ...)
On the pothole-reporting front, I had a very good experience a few years back with Westminster Council. Cycling into the West End from NW London I used to spot a fair number of holes, and occasionally rang the council to report them.
The crowning glory was the hole reported when I got into work that had been filled by the time I passed it on my way home - during the day there's even been a phone call to tell me what they were doing about it.
John, you're a star, mate! Just a brief statement would be the ideal verification for the report in making LB of L'sham. I'll ask the Phantom if he'd pass on my email address.
Yes, the buggy was a close call!
Hurrah for this website! I just knew it was the place to come.
The Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), of which I'm a member, has a website you can use to report potholes. They will then contact the right people who can get them filled in.
http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
Talking of crazy cyclists, has anybody else seen heard the woman who cycles down Trafalgar Road in a morning towards Greenwich shouting all manner of abuse at motorists?
MESSAGE FOR JOHN WHO WITNESSED MY ACCIDENT.
Hi John, if you read this would you be able to contact me via the following email address:
steviepics@btinternet.com
Thanks!
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