Potholes Get Political

Cyclists obviously obsess about potholes and the recent 'big freeze' has only given given them more reasons to get annoyed at the state of road maintenance in the area.

As an example a complete road closure along a cycle route is chronicled by the local print media.

Meanwhile LibDems have called for an investigation into the problem.

Cllr Benson explained how diversions cause inconvenience but the expense of damage to motor vehicles is a real issue which hits all residents in their pockets indisciminately, "Everywhere you go in Reading the evidence of the impact of the recent bad weather is staring you in the face - massive potholes."

Chair of Reading's Environment scrutiny panel Tilehurst's Cllr Ricky Duveen agreed, saying there are plenty of questions to be asked of the council about their priorities.

The issue has caused some controversy among commenters as some accused the parliamentary hopeful of wasting time 'looking into holes', while others were full of praise saying this is a direct example where public money has diverted from basic services to politically expedient luxuries.


Oranjepan asks:
As reported previously the cheaper option of making patchwork repairs is only a temporary solution which is exposed during periods of bad weather. How many temporary cures must we put up with before we start looking at the underlying problems to find lasting preventative measures?

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Update: BBC South's political correspondent Peter Henley featured the subject in his weekly slot on the Politics Show.

West Berkshire cyclist Dougie Lawson broke his wrist when he was unable to avoid a pothole, while Will Wilson argued recent bad weather was just blame shifting, saying, "the impact was so bad because of the already poor state of the surfaces".

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Background: Beneath The Surface; Filling A Gap