Crawley Potholes Club

We are not the only ones to notice...

2009-02-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

We have just been pointed at the site Crawleypotholes. There is no connection to this blog, but clearly people in Pound Hill (where the photos from the first post were taken) are just as annoyed as those in other parts of the town.

Road in Focus - Forester Road

2008-11-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

A resident contacted us about Forester Road, having reported holes some weeks ago and not seen them repaired.

As it happened, the one that they were most concerned about was filled in the next day, but we decided to check out the whole street.

There definitely have been repairs recently, but there are still holes that remain unfilled and older repairs that are starting to fail. The worst places are below (the reference number is given for each report raised to WSCC):

Junction with Mason Road (WSEK-7LRNNA):The road surface all along the line where the roads meet is cracked up, and in places has opened up.

By no 106 (WSEK-7LRP67)On the carriageway next to a layby, a hole has opened up where the surface has been patched in the past.

Outside nos 93&95 (WSEK-7LRPGU)
The driveway here looks new, and it's hard to tell whether the holes were there beforehand, were caused by the work, or have opened up afterwards. The one at the verge was full of leaves, so hard to see, but the other was clear to see.

Given that the road has recently been looked at and repaired, it's surprising that problems are still evident.

Update from WSCC

2008-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Following the reports to WSCC, we received a call from the Highways Department.

The hole near the level crossing (previous post) is to be filled within 72 hours (so we will check it on Saturday 16th).

Some of the holes will be on the "three month list", which means that they should be filled over the next three months (so we will check in November). The rest of the problems have been noted but are not deserving of emergency treatment. It wasn't clear which were which, but hopefully it will be clear once the work has been done.

However, the officer also informed us that in September they will be starting a full inspection across Crawley. It will be interesting to see what they find.

2008-08-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

On Springfield Road, where traffic from Horsham Road will be coming in - near the level crossing. Reported to WSCC under ref WSEK-7HDR25.

Road in Focus - Albany Road

2008-08-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Albany Road has to major areas with problems. First is the junction with Ifield Road:
Image 1: The photo is taken from Ifield Road, and there is one fairly obvious hole by the kerb, but additionally there are others opening up where the roads meet and at the edges of old repairs to the surface. (reported to WSCC under ref WSEK-7HDQMK)

The other is in the stretch that runs parallel to the railway, between Garden Walk and Princess Road:

Image 2: outside no 82 Albany Road.
Image 3: outside No 78 Albany Road

Image 4: looking East towards the junction with Leopold Road
Image 5: looking West from Princess Road

In the four pictures above we do not see any real potholes in the road, although the last does show one in the pathway (reported to WSCC under ref WSEK-7HDQRE). However, the issue is that the road surface is wearing away and cracks from old works and repairs are starting to open up in some places (images 2, 3 & 4) or the road surface has sunk over some works which isn't actually a pothole but will feel like one when you drive or ride over it.

We have raised the whole of this section road to WSCC (under ref WSEK-7HDQWT)

Road in Focus - Ifield Road

2008-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Between the Horsham Road junction and the town centre, Ifield Road is in reasonable condition. However, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. After contact from West Green, we went out to look at the problems in one stretch - between Church Road and Albany Road.

Image 1: Westbound just past the barbers and opposite Smalls Mead. Hole at edge of road. Looks like an old repair following works is failing.

Image 2: Eastbound at junction with Smalls Mead. Foreground shows holes at side of road and where the different surfaces of the two roads meet. In the background (not too clear), surface has several dips about 2 foot from the kerb. (Images 1&2 reported to WSCC under reference WSEK-7HDQ6P)

Image 3: Junction with Princess Road. A deep hole here which is right in the path of the wheels of any vehicle turning left into Princess Road. (reported to WSCC under ref WSEK-7HDQA2)
Image 4: From Leopold Road across, looking north. The metal covers in the foreground are set very low in the roadway. In the background by the kerb is a pothole with weeds growing in it. (Reported to WSCC under reference WSEK-7HDQCP)

And then we get to Albany Road, which needs a post for itself...

Crawley's footpaths - the worst in West Sussex

2008-08-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

West Sussex County Council has a backlog of nearly £20M of footpath repairs. All areas of the county are affected, but Crawley has the largest amount of outstanding work - £5.6M. This is about the same as Chichester, Horsham and Mid Sussex districts combined, as reported on the Crawley Observer website today.

Crawley is getting a raw deal out of West Sussex - we can only guess as to what the backlog is for repairing the roads.

2008-08-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

This hole is in the middle of Malthouse Road. You can see how long it has been there because there are weeds and grass growing out of it.

Introducing the Crawley Potholes Club

2008-07-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the CPC website.

This site is not about caving, but about the profusion of holes, raised and sunken metalwork and other examples of poor road maintenance in Crawley.

West Sussex County Council, through it's Highways Department, is responsible for the state of most residential roads and rural roads. Major roads, such as the Bypass, are looked after by the national Highways Agency.

From a variety of sources, it seems that concerns are growing about the state of Crawley's roads. Holes that were repaired a year ago are re-opening. Resurfacing appears to be a matter of laying some tar and dropping gravel into it, which doesn't last very long before needing to be replaced.

The Money

Between 2005/6 and 2006/7, WSCC cut it's Highways and Transport spending (before fees, charges and grants) from £63M to less than £58M. Henry Smith recently announced a 'boost' to road maintenance of £700,000, but this only makes up a small portion of the earlier cut

While WSCC has been putting up Council Tax bills by over 4% a year, they have been underfunding road maintenance - The proportion of the budget spent on Highways and Maintenance has fallen from 7% to 5% over the past five years.

But of course, we all know that poorly maintained roads add to the cost of owning a vehicle. Car suspensions and bike wheels damaged by holes cost us dearly, but this doesn't appear on the local council's balance sheets.

Of course, the worst cost from bad road surfaces is not financial, it's an issue of safety. Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable to potholes, and as road users swerve to try to avoid problems, the chances of an accident will increase.

The Standards

We believe that the standard of repairs has slipped recently. Often a pothole is simply filled with tarmac and barely tamped down. This would be fine as a temporary measure, but

What do the local Conservative Councillors say?

Instead of insisting that WSCC improve, some local councillors - Alan Quirk of Broadfield and Lucy Brockwell of Maidenbower - have suggested that the damage to local roads is being done by the buses (and that the bus companies should pay for the repairs). This would be an acceptable claim if it were only roads on bus routes that were afflicted. However, it seems that many residential roads and closes which never see a bus are also in a poor state.

What do the local Labour Councillors say?

Most of Crawley's councillors, whether they are on Crawley Borough Council or West Sussex County Council have been receiving complaints about the state of our roads, and they are backing action. However, as they are in the opposition in both councils, there is little that they can do without evidence and an expression of popular feeling.

The Crawley Pothole Club has been formed as a way to highlight the problem, and to allow local residents to have their say. We invite comments on the site and to our email address (see the link to the left).