A man who moved to Letchworth four months ago is ‘appalled’ at the state of the roads in the town and is calling on the community to take action.
Jamie Martin – who works as a designer in the games, technology and films industry – launched a petition on Tuesday calling on Herts County Council to ‘repair our roads’.
Despite reporting several potholes – in Baldock Road and South View – online in the past month, Jamie says that none of them have been repaired and he is concerned that a serious accident could be on the horizon.
The 36-year-old said: “Since I moved to Letchworth I have grown increasingly appalled by the condition of the highways in the town.
“I have never encountered such poorly maintained roads and ignorant highway maintenance council policies.
“Having previously lived in Surrey, if I encountered what I considered to be a dangerously sized pothole, it would be repaired within a week after being reported.
“I have had instances where I have almost come off my bike when crashing through one of the hundreds of potholes littered around Letchworth.
“I feel it is time for us as a community to act, before the roads in our town are reduced to a crumbling mess.
“A child could easily be thrown off their bike and under the wheels of a passing vehicle simply because the county council has not been fixing the highways we pay for them to maintain in good faith.”
Councillor Terry Douris, who is responsible for highways at County Hall, said: “Our programme for 2016/17 includes more than 30 roads in Letchworth.
“These works will maintain and improve significant sections of roads such as Baldock Road and Letchworth Gate, as well as many other roads in the town.
“The county council has an ongoing maintenance programme to repair and renew our roads for the benefit of all road users in Hertfordshire.
“We are continuing to invest heavily in our 3,000 miles of roads, spending more than £30 million this year on road maintenance and repairs.
“We’re sorry to hear that some residents are unhappy with the current condition of roads in Letchworth and appreciate people’s patience while we make arrangements for the work to take place. The public should report any defects on the highway to our contractor Ringway via www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults.”
To view the petition, visit www.change.org/p/highway-officer-hertfordshire-county-council-repair-our-roads-in-letchworth-garden-city
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