Pot hole vote

Fri 11 May 2018, 11:02

(Posts that relate principally to national/international issues moved to the Grease Pit --Richard)

Wed 9 May 2018, 09:30

From OCC's Highways Department own website:
"Please note that the time periods listed below may not currently be achieved due to significant numbers of claims being received. We are working through claims as quickly as possible, based on the date they were received. Your patience is appreciated during this period."
Says it all.

Mon 7 May 2018, 15:17

In December I had to go into a pot hole because If I pulled out to avoid it then I would have had an accident with the oncoming vehicle. The tyre blew and I had to take the day off work and Spend £130 on a new tyre. This was in Crawley and the overwhelming number of pot holes on this road had already been reported on Fixmystreet when I checked.
Lately I feel like I am in one of my son's crash bandicoot racing games, constantly swerving to avoid the traps all over the road. This weekend I had relatives from Nottingham stay who were totally shocked and appalled about the vast number of dangerous pot holes all over West Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds.
I will definitely sign the petition, whilst trying to avoid an accident and/or expensive repair bills on a daily basis.

Mon 7 May 2018, 08:13

Joy of joys had a blow out after hitting a pot hot tyre totally destroyed and wheel needs refurbishment £120 for the tyre and £50 to refurbish the wheel this could happen every week

Sun 6 May 2018, 18:33

Spot on in your analysis Philip. We pay an enormous amount in Council tax to the County Council to provide us with good quality services including road maintenance and services for the elderly. I understand that the County council has £150m in reserves (our money) and that the Liberal Democrats proposed that £10m of this be spent on improved highway maintenance, but unfortunately the ruling conservative group who run the council couldn't grasp the importance or sense of this proposal and voted it down. Hence the reason voters abandoned them in droves in the recent council elections.

Sat 5 May 2018, 21:48

To portray this as a choice between road maintenance or adult social care is misleading to say the least. If you look at your council tax leaflet the two money pits are social care and welfare benefits. We could debate for ever the merits or otherwise of these requirements.

What is indisputable is that the council has a statutory obligation to fix the roads, we cannot do it - all hell would break loose if you tried to fix a pothole yourself - Elfin Safety etc. Increasingly they are resorting to patching which is like putting a sticking plaster over the problem - proper resurfacing is the answer. Don't forget to report potholes on fixmytstreet website and to claim against the council for any damage incurred.

Why are the roads so much worse in Oxfordshire than in adjoining counties?
Why do we pay the leader of OCC about 50% more than the PM? Time to slim down to one tier of local govermment not two.

Sat 5 May 2018, 19:22

The pot hole will only get worse if they don't get look after the roads so by choosing not to do any maintenance They have brought it on them selfs over the years water gets into the cracks freezes expands and damage is done saving a few pounds by not doing the work will now cost us all lots more money in the long run.

Sat 5 May 2018, 15:19

I thought it was the weight of the vehicles that damaged the roads. We need to stop calling it 'road tax' - it's a vehicle tax. We don't pay enough council tax to care for the elderly, I completely agree, so we can't spend it on roads instead. When we pay council tax it goes to the council and when we pay income tax and vehicle tax it goes to central government. My understanding is that within a year or two there will be no grants from central government to local government. Perhaps our local MP can put us right on this point?

Fri 4 May 2018, 17:25 (last edited on Fri 4 May 2018, 17:26)

Alice the tax system in general are buying cruise missiles etc. The council don't care for the elderly until they have lost their houses. My father was paying £8000
a month for live in care. Stupidly low road tax on low emission cars and especially electric cars are ridiculous. Building an electric car is a nightmare for the environment and the batteries are full of dangerous chemicals. And then they charge them up with electricity from gas burning power stations. If they were charged a reasonable tax then perhaps these shocking roads could be fixed once and for all.

Fri 4 May 2018, 10:03

WODC results for those interested: tinyurl.com/y8oetvwp . Three Lib Dem gains and two Labour gains; Conservatives retain control, of course.

Fri 4 May 2018, 09:45

I hope the local council aren't buying cruise missiles now. It's bad enough having the Government buy them. We fund the County Council directly to repair the roads and pay for care for the elderly. So they've not bought it on themselves - we bought it on ourselves by refusing to fund them. I would vote for the candidate brave enough to say this.

Fri 4 May 2018, 06:04

Alice your right we shouldn't take any funding from the elderly but they are bringing the situation on to them self they have left the roads alone for about 5 years it's only going to get worse they now need major work on them no patching

Thu 3 May 2018, 20:59

Yes Paul totally agree I expect you could do all the roads in Oxfordshire for the price of a cruise missile! Cheryl my favourites are towards Bicester the other side of lower Heyford they make you weave!

Thu 3 May 2018, 19:53

Alice your right we shouldn't take any funding from the elderly but they are bringing the situation on to them self they have left the roads alone for about 5 years it's only going to get worse they now need major work on them no patching

Thu 3 May 2018, 10:18

Good question. It doesn't matter who you vote for if there had been a vote for the County Council today. Because we have refused to fund them to do this work. This year I personally have paid £78.50 to OCC towards the upkeep of the roads, the subsidy to rural transport, traffic management etc. I wouldn't want them to divert any more funding from care for the elderly, children's social care or education and learning. So I'll carry on driving very, very slowly.

Thu 3 May 2018, 06:01 (last edited on Thu 3 May 2018, 06:04)

The title made me think he meant voting for our favourite pot hole. I do feel quite an affection for some of them, they've become like old friends and I find myself constantly looking out for them. If I had to pick a favourite, I do admit that I'd struggle to separate any of the ones in Crawley, on the left hand side of the road just after the bridge heading towards Witney. That's a fantastic collection, one right after the other where the road is completely disintegrating.

Wed 2 May 2018, 22:47

No election in Charlbury I'm afraid!

Wed 2 May 2018, 20:48

So who should we vote for tomorrow to get the roads fixed?