‘We only fix what has been marked’ was the answer to a question posed to a Highways worker by one curious observer of Friday evening’s ‘Bobcat Session’ on Salisbury Road, when the road was closed so that the Council’s Highways team could fix the craters in the road. Credit to the Highways Bobcat team, many were fixed, but curiously, a significant number of those bad potholes, or ‘apparently’ bad potholes remain, untouched.
Those ‘fixed’ had been marked with spray paint. But whoever did the preliminary assessment only sprayed some of the bad imperfections leaving many similar holes unmarked, untouched and still there. As the observer was right to ask – ‘why?’.
There are lots of possible answers. Maybe the Council will be back and then state that they have now ‘addressed this problem more than once’. Or, ‘we are looking after the local economy and helping the car repair and tyre businesses’. Or a whole range of other ‘unlikely’ answers. None of which will answer that simple one word question of ‘why?’.
Salisbury Road, in skiing parlance was a real and challenging ‘Slalom’ course. Now, it’s a bit better but more like a ‘Super G’ slalom course. Not quite so many ‘gates’ (holes), but still not up to ‘Downhill’ course standard. As it should be.
We’ve asked our two local Wiltshire Councillors for their understanding of the rational (or policy?) behind this selective approach to fixing potholes. As yet no response. We haven’t – on this occasion – asked Highways at Wiltshire Council directly as previously there has never been any response. Probably due to a lack of spray paint marking our e-mails…….
Marlborough’s Lottie Turnell breaks through to Badminton
