DAMNING ROAD AND PAVEMENT DOSSIER LEADS TO UNPRECEDENTED HIGHWAYS COMMITTEE RESPONSE
St Albans Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Sandy Walkington attended last night's Highways Joint Member Panel to formally present the devastating road and pavement dossier compiled from the two and a half thousand responses to his survey carried out earlier this year.
He told the committee that the report was based on responses from 2,500 local households. Nearly 86% of those responding had expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of local roads and pavements, with 55% being very dissatisfied.
"It wasn't just car drivers," Sandy told the Panel. "Old people in particular felt trapped in their homes for fear of falling over, but a staggering 29% of respondents reported having fallen and some sustained quite serious injuries. One young mother fell in front of her young children who had the distressing experience of seeing her being rushed to casualty.
"Cyclists (who formed 28% of those responding) felt put in peril by potholes when they have to swerve to avoid them. Mobility scooter users, people in wheelchairs, mothers with prams or buggies - they all complained."
His presentation was followed by impassioned debate round the committee which expressed members' own dissatisfaction with the performance of Herts Highways. A Liberal Democrat motion expressing grave concern at the proposed highways repair programme for the next five years was passed without opposition - in effect rejecting entirely the currently proposed calendar of road and pavement repairs.
Councillors felt that the much vaunted "asset management" system had provided perverse results. Leafy South West Harpenden had a third more road repair schemes than central St Albans and an amazing four times as many as the Sandridge division comprising Sandridge village and Marshalswick North.
Commenting on the dossier and motion, County Councillor Chris White said: "It is unprecedented for a Highways Panel to reject a works programme. There now have to be urgent talks between council officials and local political leaders to sort out the mess that Herts Highways have made of running highways in St Albans. The Conservative administration at County Hall is presiding over a shambles and just don't seem to care."
"This dossier and last night's overwhelmingly negative debate should be a wake-up call to Herts Highways and to the county council," Sandy Walkington concluded. "It would be very unwise of them to dismiss the weight of evidence as a political stunt."