Cyclists and bikers “take their lives into their hands” when they use certain pothole-ridden roads around Biggleswade and Potton – that’s according to an independent councillor.
Councillor Adam Zerny, who represents Potton on Central Bedfordshire Council, has vowed to put pressure on the authority to get the problem sorted out.
The Conservative-controlled council says a national survey has shown Central Bedfordshire’s roads meet the national average for maintenance.
But Mr Zerny said: “The state of many of the roads in our area is dreadful – the worst I’ve seen it in years.
“Road users, especially cyclists and bikers, take their lives into their hands on some of these roads. People deserve better for the excessive council tax they are forced to pay.”
Criticising the council’s efforts to fill the holes in, he added: “The work needs to be conducted properly. If a road is covered in potholes, resurfacing is a far more sensible, not to say economical, solution, than just filling a hole.”
Mr Zerny cited Biggleswade’s Rose Lane, Potton’s King Street and the Wrestlingworth crossroads and being in particularly poor condition.
Part of the problem, he said, was the council’s online system for reporting faults.
“This is very time-consuming and a real pain if you’re using a phone,” he said. “I can see why many people give up.
“There should be an email address to which these issues can be sent, or they let people use social media to report problems”.
A council spokeswoman said in response: “The latest National Highways and Transport Survey shows that Central Bedfordshire meets the national average level in terms of how we manage and maintain our highways, and for Winter Maintenance we are ahead of the national average.
“Our annual highways maintenance plan is just out, and includes more than 250 forthcoming structural and maintenance projects that will be taking place across all types of road classifications.”
The council has just been allocated £495,000 by central government to deal with the potholes. The spokeswoman said it would be dealing with them during May with a spray-injection machine called a Jetpatcher.
You can report potholes to Central Bedfordshire Council at cb-report-it.co.uk.
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