Potholes on the road from Woodstock (Debate)

Sun 4 Jun 2023, 10:05

Getting bigger !!! with exposed iron work to the fire hydrant another puncture and cracked wheel for a visitor in his hired car. Is the compensation paid out ( is this figure available ? ) more than the cost of undertaking the repairs ???

Fri 28 Apr 2023, 07:11

The zig Zag motion of cars dodging the holes and looking for the points to avoid has obvious implication of road safety , which becomes a different game when raining and disguised 

Wed 26 Apr 2023, 19:47

We drive on the left of the road, now we drive on what's left of it!

Tue 25 Apr 2023, 14:08

Fixing pot holes in Europe , we need those trucks here.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=40e5dfc06d&attid=0.2&permmsgid=msg-f:1763555348875706686&th=1879683eff7a013e&view=att&disp=safe

Thu 20 Apr 2023, 20:09

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-65336591

Wed 12 Apr 2023, 11:20

Reply from OCC on report multiple potholes on the Woodstock Rd.

Thank you for your report. These potholes have been programmed in for repair and will be fixed as soon as possible. Thank you.

State changed to: Investigation complete

Mon 3 Apr 2023, 10:10

Good news!  Driving from Charlbury to Oakham, we found the roads were uniformly awful.  The ones that looked fine and gave a little bit of confidence let you down with huge hidden holes when your defences had been lowered.  It was like dodging bullets all the way.

So, it is not that Oxfordshire roads are uniquely bad, it is that bad is the norm. 

We can't deny that heavier rainfall is a consequence of higher temperatures and climate change.  This argument is about paying to offset its impact.  Before this climate sceptic Government, vehicle excise duty (which has never been ring-fenced to roads) used to be graded according to emissions which might have been a good indicator of weight.  How about re-introducing vehicle tax based on emissions, weight and distance travelled to compensate for the damage done to the roads?  I would consider that fair.   Maybe a different rate for commercial vehicles needed?

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 12:22

On the JCB pothole machine recommended by Nadine on the main thread about potholes, see one of the comments on the YouTube link provided there: This machine is useless, i operate the jcb 3cx compact and that alone is far too big for pot hole repairs, you can't fit these machines anywhere on our roads, the 3cx is huge and you can't even see the cheap chinesium planer from the cab, this one is even worse it would be a nightmare to operate on uk roads, i've been operating machines for 30yrs and these are an absolute waste of money, jcb will benefit cos only the councils are stupid enough to buy this thing, save your cash and invest in a Bobcat or Gehl.

Perhaps we the Council should instead invest in the machine that will fill potholes with Pot Noodles: https://www.witneygazette.co.uk/news/23428724.pot-noodle-launches-campaign-pot-holes-uk/

News posted on April 1st, so presumably an April Fool's joke -- although it's hard to tell these days, especially since the same newspaper told us a couple of days earlier than April 1st that there was a campaign to turn a house in Witney into a "sheep empathy museum": https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23421416.peta-wants-witney-wool-merchants-house-sheep-empathy-museum/

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 19:42 (last edited on Mon 3 Apr 2023, 08:33)

And he needs a sharp reminder about why we have such terrible roads - they didn't get into this state over the last eighteen months.  More like over the past 10 years. While the Tories were in charge.

The £200m that Alice refers to is for county councils to fill potholes and means just £3.7m for Oxfordshire. We need at least £15m per year more than we have in our budget just to keep the potholes filled so this will not make much difference.  The potholes will be filled when the heavy rain we have had recently had dried up - you can't put tarmac into holes filled with water.

If you want a public meeting with me, Nadine,  come to the Charlbury Annual Meeting on April 21st where I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 16:21

I’ve received an election leaflet from the Charlbury Conservative candidate for the upcoming local elections which says “Potholes are a serious problem in Charlbury and the surrounding area, we need to keep up pressure on the County Council to make sure these repairs are done quickly, but not sub-standard fixes that don’t last”.

The leaflet also complains that council tax is going to increase by 4.99%.

So, it seems his party wants the potholes fixed but not to have to pay for that?

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 13:25

The money comprises less than 10% of the shortfall in local council budgets, which is estimated by highway industry sources to be as high as £8-9bn.

It leaves a significant shortfall in the County Council’s budget.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 09:39

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations/additional-budget-2023-highways-maintenance-and-pothole-repair-funding-2023-to-2024

The budget two weeks ago allocated £200m to potholes repair over England.  What I don't know is whether this is just for the major trunk roads which are the financial responsibility of the Dept. of Transport.  Do you need to write to Mr. Courts again?

Is vehicle tax ring-fenced?  I thought it wasn't.  No such thing as road tax.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 08:51 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 11:46)

Richard, maybe we should meet up to have a chat? It's a shame Russell Robson moved - he was always my back up.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 08:49

And FB, Youtube and Whatsapp are all censored nowadays with Fact Checking by a company called Logically who is owned by the same people . Twitter and Rumble not so much but then as soon as you mention them you are accused of being a conspiracy theorist or ALT RIGHT which I am most certainly not. Just a critical thinker.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 08:46

Thanks for being so utterly patronising.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 07:28

Nadine – it’s not a “free speech site” and has never claimed to be; that’s why there’s a dozen or so forum rules. I try and (lightly) moderate it to keep the forum on the subject of Charlbury and to make it approachable by the wider community. If you want to post theories about the “MSM” and the French protests I honestly think you may find Facebook a more welcoming venue.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 23:27 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 07:39)

Tonight, a stranded vehicle awaiting a recovery vehicle as a double puncture after hitting a pot hole - a lone single female having to wait over an hour! Unacceptable- this is the reality. 

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 22:06

Just to note that the Charlbury 20mph proposals voted through enjoyed 75-80% support in both council consultations.

In open consultation.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 21:45 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 21:49)

I can’t possibly express my emotions tonight - this country has turned against its own . Having grown up in the 60s and 70s I never thought I’d live to see this . I spoke with a younger French colleague this week who had been in Paris last week. All I can say is good for the French - but not making MSM here. We live in weird times !  

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 21:09 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 07:02)

David Cook got thrown off this thread for mentioning LTNs and 20 mph signs and the expense there of  - yes relevant as he's talking about council expenditure  - as he supposedly raised a topic not linked. I can’t believe the timing but my husband and I hit a pothole down the hill from  Cafe de La poste in Chadlington and a front tyre blew - my husband had to change the spare in the pouring rain whilst I ran  up to take a pic of the water filled cavern - no white rim - marked  out for repairs. When these potholes are filled with water they are not visible to drivers at night. I have taken lots of  photos obviously - I feel we could do with a public consult with Liz Leffman if she can spare the time and we can get a Charlbury venue. I Also is this still a free speech site ?  We will be putting in a claim to WODC however for the tyre /however long it takes! 

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 18:27

Totally agree with Mark's comments ref Councils having to manage deep funding cuts. Spending £8m over three years on 20mph road signage could have been better spent on public libraries, parks and social services. I do not see many motorist respecting the new limits so what was the point of the expenditure?

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 15:17

David - we're on the same page. Shut down. Like why 2 million people on the streets of Paris doesn't make our MSM. We live in dark and strange times and we will get more divided which works for the powers that be. I fear for the UK. Very sad!

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 14:35

Freedom of expression or opinion no longer welcome if critical of the elected authority.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 14:18 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 14:21)

No, you have chosen to relate them.

OCC has many spending priorities to juggle and it’s your view that 20mph/LTNs shouldn’t be a priority and potholes should. You’re absolutely entitled to that view. Other people might think, for example, that OCC should spend less money on libraries, or increase charges for recycling, or stop subsidising buses, and use the money to fix potholes. That’s an equally valid view.

But it gets really tedious when every thread about highways is diverted by the same assertion. Please stop doing it.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 13:53

Richard, the two topics are related. 

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 13:45

If you want to discuss 20mph and LTNs, do it in a separate thread. This thread is about potholes.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 13:38

Liz LTNs cost money to install and contrary to your propaganda 20mph are not as popular as you have stated, the £8m spent on signage over three years should have been spent on repairing roads. Cost of repairing a tyre can be in excess of £120.