Road rage - about roads not their users

[Bmblbzzz]

One significant factor in the state of rural lanes has been the disappearance of the lowly but vital role of parish lengthsman. He would walk the local roads daily, using hand tools to clear blocked drains and gullies, remove debris etc. Micro problems thus never had the chance to become minor problems which in turn become major problems, as they all too often do within the present maintenance cycle.
The role still survives in some areas, including organised volunteers, but they're few and far between.

I'm currently reading Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful" (because reasons, the main one being I happened to see it in the library, on a rather random shelf) and this sounds a good example of what he calls "intermediate technology".

[rareposter]

Yes.. yes I am. The cable snapped on the garage door on June, I've not been for a bike since then, as I can't get the bike out.

If you had an electronic garage door, there'd be no cable to snap... **

More seriously, get well soon.


**(to anyone else reading and for the avoidance of doubt, this is a joke based on previous comments between me and c-t on the virtues of mechanical vs electronic gearing).

[rareposter]

One significant factor in the state of rural lanes has been the disappearance of the lowly but vital role of parish lengthsman.

Parish councils aren't responsible for roads any more. Their role is much more local community stuff.

It used to be that they were responsible for roads (back in the early days of proper roads) and all that happened was you had a wildly piecemeal and fragmented approach to road maintenance, far more so than now. It's all good looking at the past with rose-tinted specs but if you reckon that the answer to potholes is to have a bloke walking along the side of a road now, that's about the least efficient method possible...

[Bmblbzzz]

One significant factor in the state of rural lanes has been the disappearance of the lowly but vital role of parish lengthsman. He would walk the local roads daily, using hand tools to clear blocked drains and gullies, remove debris etc. Micro problems thus never had the chance to become minor problems which in turn become major problems, as they all too often do within the present maintenance cycle.
The role still survives in some areas, including organised volunteers, but they're few and far between.

I'm currently reading Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful" (because reasons, the main one being I happened to see it in the library, on a rather random shelf) and this sounds a good example of what he calls "intermediate technology".

It is of course neither truly intermediate (it's more basic) nor even a technology.

[ChrisButch]

One significant factor in the state of rural lanes has been the disappearance of the lowly but vital role of parish lengthsman.

Parish councils aren't responsible for roads any more. Their role is much more local community stuff.

It used to be that they were responsible for roads (back in the early days of proper roads) and all that happened was you had a wildly piecemeal and fragmented approach to road maintenance, far more so than now. It's all good looking at the past with rose-tinted specs but if you reckon that the answer to potholes is to have a bloke walking along the side of a road now, that's about the least efficient method possible...

Just to point out (although it's perhaps not relevant to a discussion of their effectiveness), that in Devon, County Highways have indeed supported a number of parish councils in reviving lengthsman schemes, funded partly by the parishes themselves and partly by a Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCEF). (Thus conforming to the usual local authority rule that a budget's title is inversely proportionate to its size).

[Bmblbzzz]

It sounds like a job that could be done on a Sustrans-style volunteer ranger basis.

[cycle tramp]

Yes.. yes I am. The cable snapped on the garage door on June, I've not been for a bike since then, as I can't get the bike out.

If you had an electronic garage door, there'd be no cable to snap... **

More seriously, get well soon.


**(to anyone else reading and for the avoidance of doubt, this is a joke based on previous comments between me and c-t on the virtues of mechanical vs electronic gearing).

Thanks, it's appreciated.. but in all honesty why are there cables holding anyone's garage door together with a potentially hazardous metal spring, tensioned to that of a catapult?

Seriously if there's one thing which might be better and safer it would be some thing like a worm drive operated by an electrical motor, perhaps with a hand winch over ride. Or even a chain drive? Anything other than a cable.

Dear Shimano/Sram,
Have you thought about a wireless Dii electric garage door opener?

[roubaixtuesday]

Yes.. yes I am. The cable snapped on the garage door on June, I've not been for a bike since then, as I can't get the bike out.

Mine snapped leaving the door stuck open at an extremely inopportune moment last year, the day before leaving for an extended tour.

Happily there are plenty of firms out there set up for fixing these, and it was sorted before the end of the day.

No need to wait for months.