reporting poor cycle lane condition

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CyberKnight
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reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by CyberKnight »

A long drawn out affair it has turned out to be :(

The section of cyclepath i have to use to avoid the roundabout of death which is a 3 lane affair where everyone is doing 40 plus and lane hopping is not safe even in a vehicle has been covered in various debris off lorries, bottles of micturate , gravel, overgrown bushes , you name it then its liable at some point to be blocking the path at some point including lorries in lay byes parked up completely blocking the path forcing you into the dual carriageway .
I have reported it to the council and fix my street on numerous occasions and you can guess what they do ? thats right sweet fanny adam so in the end i contacted my MP and told them the dangers and within 2 weeks at least half of the path has been cleared .
Not perfect but at least i can get past sections now without fearing that my handlebars will get snagged on a bush and pull me off
John Wayne: "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on... I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
thirdcrank
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by thirdcrank »

IMO, this is one of the negative aspects of the "good constituency MP" thing. Contacting your MP, or at least their office, shouldn't be a means for savvy people to get results that the so-called gatekeepers have blanked for others. It's something I've done a few times but it shouldn't be necessary.

Some years ago when I was having trouble over a replacement wheelie bin I had the "This year, next year, sometime, never" response (actually "six weeks at least") and an email to a local councillor got me two within 48 hours.
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mjr
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by mjr »

County councillor would be better than the MP unless it is a National Highway, but well done on getting the job done.

No, it should not be needed, but motorists do not hesitate to escalate and nor must cyclists if we want our fair share of repairs.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Psamathe
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by Psamathe »

In the past when I've had to repeatedly report a bad pothole and no action take (multiple reports through the smartphone reporting apps) I've then added to the free text description along the lines of "Reported many times now and no action taken. Dangerous. Do I really need to get my Councillor involved?" - and it has then been fixed quite quickly (without needing to get any external people involved).

Appart from Highways just being slow, "always put-off and delay whatever you can" attitude, I also sometimes wonder if there is a cost of repair consideration. My impression is fixing a straightforward isolated hole is relatively cheap whereas fixing a long section of broken-up surface that might be sliding int a ditch is expensive. Both dangerous but the long sections I've reported tend to not get fixed (last month a long section managed to get a couple of potholes at each end fixed but the long broken-up surface remains un-repaired).

Ian
cycle tramp
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by cycle tramp »

CyberKnight wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 10:35am A long drawn out affair it has turned out to be :(

I have reported it to the council and fix my street on numerous occasions and you can guess what they do ? thats right sweet fanny adam so in the end i contacted my MP and told them the dangers and within 2 weeks at least half of the path has been cleared .
Having worked for a local authority, I would suggest the following;

1) report it, but ask for feed back as to when the work will be carried out
2) if you don't get a response from 1) within the response deadline that the council has set, make an official complaint
3) if you do get a response back and the work is not carried out when the council said it would, be make an official complaint
4) following the investigation of the official complaint, if the work is still not carried out, forward it to the ombudsman
- at that stage also write to your mp with a clear history of the situation and any targets that the council has missed 😀
It's time to go :-)
cycle tramp
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by cycle tramp »

Psamathe wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 12:11pm In the past when I've had to repeatedly report a bad pothole and no action take (multiple reports through the smartphone reporting apps) I've then added to the free text description along the lines of "Reported many times now and no action taken. Dangerous. Do I really need to get my Councillor involved?" - and it has then been fixed quite quickly (without needing to get any external people involved).

Appart from Highways just being slow, "always put-off and delay whatever you can" attitude, I also sometimes wonder if there is a cost of repair consideration.

Ian
I remember that there is an urgency or priority issue. A road defect, or debris left on an a class road will trump any road defect on a b road, which will then trump any defect on a c road.. Then it will come down to the size and position of the road defect.... A country lane (especially single track) may not receive the attention it deserves, if there are constant issues with the a class roads...
It's time to go :-)
Psamathe
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by Psamathe »

cycle tramp wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 12:15pm
CyberKnight wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 10:35am A long drawn out affair it has turned out to be :(

I have reported it to the council and fix my street on numerous occasions and you can guess what they do ? thats right sweet fanny adam so in the end i contacted my MP and told them the dangers and within 2 weeks at least half of the path has been cleared .
Having worked for a local authority, I would suggest the following;

1) report it, but ask for feed back as to when the work will be carried out
2) if you don't get a response from 1) within the response deadline that the council has set, make an official complaint
3) if you do get a response back and the work is not carried out when the council said it would, be make an official complaint
4) following the investigation of the official complaint, if the work is still not carried out, forward it to the ombudsman
- at that stage also write to your mp with a clear history of the situation and any targets that the council has missed 😀
Smartphone apps vary. I used to use CUK's FillThatHole app which is a "black hole" - reports are submitted to local authority but no updates or anything get back to you. As the CUK app no longer runs properly on iPhones (screen layout makes some buttons "a challenge" - it desperately needs maintenance), I've switched to using Fix My Street which does the same job but seems to submit more "on your behalf" which includes your e-mail so (in my case in Norfolk) you get loads of responses and update e-mails from the report direct from the council. Some responses are just a nuisance (e.g. "In this instance I've passed your report on but in future please use ..."). Due to the number of update e-mails I've ended-up blocking them all but on the positive, at least they are trying to keep you updated. Other reason is I make so many reports (potholes, fly-tipping, etc.) the number of updates becomes a real nuisance - fine if you report only occasionally but impractical if you use it a lot/have bad roads.

Ian
thirdcrank
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by thirdcrank »

County councillor would be better
In general, it's best to go to the relevant level, hence my approach to a local councillor about my wheelie bin, but stuff from an MPs office always comes into an organization top down. One of my many pet hates is traffic calming which disproportionately affects cyclists eg raised strips across the full width of the carriageway. Leeds City Council was persuaded to cover this in their contract specifications, so a word to the cycling officer was enough to get the problem remedied. When the M1 was extended from Lofthouse (M62 junction) to Hook Moor (A1 (M) junction ) some minor roads in the area were "improved" including some full-width traffic-calming. I raised this as normal but it was all a Highways Agency project so I was not confident of a decent result. By coincidence, the MP for that bit of east Leeds was campaigning over the tyre noise caused by the money-saving use of concrete for the motorway surface and the local press was full of it. Cue for a letter of support with a grouse about the traffic-calming. Result = immediate removal of the offending thermoplastic and a personal letter from a miffed contractor saying there was no need to write to an MP. I don't know if this affects these people's attitudes in the longer term (I'll show him or better try harder) but in this case, streetview still shows line which don't stretch the width of the road. (I know it takes riders into the gutter but it's better than having your teeth shaken out.)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.80789 ... 384!8i8192
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CyberKnight
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by CyberKnight »

I probably jumped a bit far up the chain of command as it were , i was just fed up of getting "not our department contact so and so " and still nothing would be done .
MP has sent an official complaint to the relevant folk so lets hope it gets all sorted the plus being my workplace is a big employer + subsidiary suppliers to us number in the thousands of jobs locally so it might have a bit more clout
John Wayne: "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on... I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
cycle tramp
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by cycle tramp »

Psamathe wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 12:28pm
Smartphone apps vary. I used to use CUK's FillThatHole app which is a "black hole" - reports are submitted to local authority but no updates or anything get back to you. As the CUK app no longer runs properly on iPhones (screen layout makes some buttons "a challenge" - it desperately needs maintenance), I've switched to using Fix My Street which does the same job but seems to submit more "on your behalf" which includes your e-mail so (in my case in Norfolk) you get loads of responses and update e-mails from the report direct from the council. Some responses are just a nuisance (e.g. "In this instance I've passed your report on but in future please use ..."). Due to the number of update e-mails I've ended-up blocking them all but on the positive, at least they are trying to keep you updated. Other reason is I make so many reports (potholes, fly-tipping, etc.) the number of updates becomes a real nuisance - fine if you report only occasionally but impractical if you use it a lot/have bad roads.

Ian
Ideally, I'd bypass any communication via third party apps. Generally you get a better response if you contact your local authority directly especially if you include a photo of the road defect (without putting yourself at risk) and an exact location (what3words) or a description of the location (outside number 35 whatever road, or 200 yards north from the t-junction with south Street and Hall Road or whatever).
Plus it makes it easier to claim any damages from the council, if you then hit the same pothole and caused damage to your vehicle and/or yourself.
You should also get some sort of automatic response and some idea of a time scale.
At this stage it might feel you've done half the job of the highways engineer, but equally the office of the highway engineer is receiving upwards of 30 complaints about road defects per day. Some of which are as vague as 'pot hole on side of Lane between town a and village b' - which will go directly to the bottom of the pile* (especially if the lane's over 5 miles long, there's more than one lane or the lane has various dead end forks) whereas a clearly identified pot hole together with a photo or two of the pothole will make it to the top.
(* this might seem unfair, but if there is a problem with the lane, then there will be other more detailed reports about the problem. For anyone who thinks the highway officer should drive each lane to try and find the issue, that could take a whole morning, at the highway officers hourly rate plus vehicle costs - its hard to justify the costs and time in the face of dwindling budgets)
It's time to go :-)
Psamathe
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by Psamathe »

I accept that direct reporting has benefits, but certainly the app I use also has benefits in terms of speed of compiling report (and thus disrupting your walk for longer given I can sometimes be reporting 5+ potholes on single walk/ride sometimes). Apps work out which authority you are in (convenient if you are travelling near border between authorities, apps use GPS for exact location, use phone camera to include photo(s), force entry of required details and app I currently use then submits on your behalf so you get the acknowledgement and update e-mails from the authority.

I accept there are negatives but to be making manual notes and compiling reports at home would be so much slower I'd probably not bother.

Ian
Jdsk
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by Jdsk »

CyberKnight wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 5:13pmMP has sent an official complaint to the relevant folk...
An MP can use their position and headed notepaper, and those might have more effect than others writing. But TTBOMK this doesn't impose any special duties whatsoever on the recipient.

I'm sure that some MPs do their best but not only does it not guarantee any particular response but it's entirely up the MP whether to do anything or not. We'd be better off with statutory systems and mandated responses, as in the best ombudsman systems.

Jonathan
Psamathe
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by Psamathe »

Jdsk wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 7:37pm ....We'd be better off with statutory systems and mandated responses, as in the best ombudsman systems.

Jonathan
Makes me think: I must have a look through Norfolk Highways guidelines for what they repair and how fast. I downloaded it all ages ago and it wont have changed as Norfolk Highways are perfect so no need to review any previous work. Interesting to know if they have specified response time for different damage for cycle lanes - particularly as often a bad pothole might trash a car's tyre or even wheel but a bad pothole could have a cyclist sprawled all over a busy road!

Ian
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mjr
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by mjr »

Psamathe wrote: 23 Oct 2021, 7:47pmI downloaded it all ages ago and it wont have changed as Norfolk Highways are perfect so no need to review any previous work. Interesting to know if they have specified response time for different damage for cycle lanes -
They do, plus repair methods are different so tar+chip mustn't be used in cycle lanes, for example. It's the Norfolk Traffic Asset Management Plan if you need to search for it. Some officers still pretend the cycling and walking bits don't exist, plus there are some annoying inconsistencies, such as 30% of a cycle track surface having to fail before it's resurfaced, if I remember correctly.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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prestavalve
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Re: reporting poor cycle lane condition

Post by prestavalve »

Fife Council commits to fixing all potholes that cause an imminent hazard on cycle lanes within 24 hours.

I have never seen the "emergency cycle lane pothole response crew" who are presumably tasked with this extraordinary duty, although a tired and emotional Robert Downy Jnr was spotted wandering around Kelty in his iron man costume, muttering and carrying a potting trowel.

It has taken them over a year to fix a 5m long ridge of potholes and other defects that runs across one the exits of a busy roundabout - and that's on a road.

This is the same council that just announced an extra £3 per week for every employee who wants to work from home, help defray the "personal cost" of working in this way. One councillor did stand up and express a concern that people might sit in bed all day with their laptops ... and that this might present a health and safety risk.

Local government is, by and large, a contemptible waste of money and the people involved should be physically encouraged into the immediate proximity of an intentional arrangement of bricks before participating in the re-enactment of scenes from Goya.
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