We are pleased to report that the ‘large patching’ work on Thanet Road and St Helens Road was completed last week, in line with the anticipated timetable.
Large patching work on Thanet Road
St Helens Road had become treacherous for cyclists in places due to the disintegration of the road surface, not helped by the frequent digging up of the road by various utility companies.
We recently reported that Cllr Stephen Fenton had undertaken a survey of footpaths around Woodthorpe and identified faults that needed fixing. We are pleased to report some early successes.
A raised metal cover which posed a trip hazard at the junction of Ryecroft Avenue and Chantry Close has been rectified (pictured below).
A section of pavement on Annan Close which was badly cracked has been resurfaced (pictured below);
Two trip hazards identified on Carron Crescent have been marked up for repair (pictured below).
Also in Woodthorpe, some much-needed repairs have been carried out on a crumbling section of the Alness Drive road surface (pictured below).
The number of Council staff working on repairing York’s footpaths and roads has dropped from 59 in 2011 to 35 today. Some of the work is, of course, undertaken by contractors.
The cuts reflect a 25% reduction in the investment being made in resurfacing the City’s highways.
During 2012 and 2013 the Labour administration cut highways repairs expenditure by around 50%. It is still not back to the level that they inherited from the last LibDem administration in 2011.
The highways repairs budget is down from £5.1 million in 2011 to only £3.8 million for 2015.
There have, however, been increases in the amounts being spent on street lighting and drainage.
Expenditure of £1.2 million on new street lights in 2012, however, did not produce the savings in running costs – or reliability – that were expected.
The day to day running costs of lighting actually increased in 2013, while fault reports also remain high.
A copy of the spreadsheet, which also details the mileage of road that has been resurfaced each year, can be found by clicking here.
Despite a relatively mild winter, the number of potholes appearing on local roads continues to increase.
In the main this is a result of major cuts to maintenance investment implemented by the new Labour administration when they took office in 2011.
|
City of York Council |
Road repairs expenditure |
|||
|
Year |
Pothole reports |
Resurfacing |
Basic maintenance |
Total |
|
2012/13 |
2492 |
£1,570,000 |
£616,700 |
£2,186,700 |
|
2011/12 |
1566 |
£2,134,000 |
£877,200 |
£3,011,200 |
|
2010/11 |
2860 |
£1,706,000 |
£1,008,000 |
£2,714,000 |
|
2009/10 |
966 |
£1,604,000 |
£1,096,000 |
£2,700,000 |
The York Council will in 2014/15 return to its pre 2011 levels of investment, but for many roads the change will come too late. A poorly maintained highway costs much more to repair than one that has had some routine maintenance.
We believe that the Council should use the £1.3 million, that it has raised by fining drivers on Lendal and Coppergate, on dealing with the repairs backlog.