Wednesday 10 October 2012

Victoria Road Hale

I have just been to look and measure some of the pot holes along Victoria Road in Hale.

It is a short unassuming kind of road in a wealthy area.  Is is also a main route for cyclists heading out towards the Cheshire countryside as well as a popular route into Hale village itself where there are some lovely shops.


View Larger Map

I have managed to take about 130 photos in all.

And I am not sure whether I am cross, disappointed or just plain angry at the moment.  I think maybe we are all just so used to the state of the road we have become blind to it.  Maybe we are so preoccupied at dodging the holes (and rightly so) that we switch off to how bad it has got.  Either way, walking down it and taking a more analytical look at the road surface has left me fuming and sadly one member of the club in hospital.

I have taken so many photos it would be impossible to post them here, so I have uploaded them to Flickr. Flickr photostream

But have a look at the video I made at the end as a brief overview.

I would love to know your thoughts.






2 comments:

  1. But no thoughts that suggest I sound like Yvette Fielding! :-D

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  2. Right with you. I'm sure that councils would often blame cuts in central funding for this situation - perhaps with some justification. And I'm sure a few of the cold spells we've had over the last few winters would take some blame too.

    But the fact remains that cyclists are hugely disproportionately "inconvenienced" by these potholes which tend to be at the edge of the road where people cycle. What might be a slight bump for a car can cause a cyclist to come off, potentially right in front of a car, as you're obviously well aware. Several times I've spotted a pothole at the last minute, and been forced to choose between swerving out in front of a fast moving car, or bracing myself and hoping for the best. Quite scary.

    Perhaps also worth mentioning something I've noticed following the really wet weather over the summer. Of course the roads get more flooded and often you can't even see the holes as you go through a puddle, and hence you don't anticipate them.

    Personally I cycle a lot on Manchester's "Oxford Road Corridor" where much of the damage is a direct result of the weight of the buses on "Europe's busiest bus route". But again, it's the cyclists who suffer the most while the buses rumble over the rutted tarmac.

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