Council pavement repair - Am I being pedantic?
Discussion
A few days ago when I returned from work, I noticed some white marking paint around a few of the pavement flags outside my house.
It was a little odd, as the ones that had been marked looked no worse than any of the others and didn't appear to be loose / raised.
Fast forward a few days, they have been lifted and replaced with tarmac - I think it looks an absolute shambles.
Not sure if its just me, but its ground my gears on a few counts;
For starters, why couldn't the flags have been re-layed or replaced with new?
What about the other flags next to it - the one to the left has a raised edge and the ones to the right are cracked / broken.
I think I know the answer - cost. But why bother if there are others that have just been left?
Its a shame, as if I was given the option to fund a proper repair / replacement I would have contributed.
Probably just me, I know its a non-issue in the grand scheme of things but I think it looks unsightly and blatantly shouts that it was done on the cheap.
Picture for reference
It was a little odd, as the ones that had been marked looked no worse than any of the others and didn't appear to be loose / raised.
Fast forward a few days, they have been lifted and replaced with tarmac - I think it looks an absolute shambles.
Not sure if its just me, but its ground my gears on a few counts;
For starters, why couldn't the flags have been re-layed or replaced with new?
What about the other flags next to it - the one to the left has a raised edge and the ones to the right are cracked / broken.
I think I know the answer - cost. But why bother if there are others that have just been left?
Its a shame, as if I was given the option to fund a proper repair / replacement I would have contributed.
Probably just me, I know its a non-issue in the grand scheme of things but I think it looks unsightly and blatantly shouts that it was done on the cheap.
Picture for reference
Typical unfortunately, blobbing tarmac into flagstones or pavers is depressingly common, I assume it's down to either outsourcing the repair to a contractor who won't give any s
ts about anything other than fulfilling the letter of the contract or council staff with instructions to get a repair done in the least time possible. Relaying it with replacement flagstones would take longer but would probably be more durable.
ts about anything other than fulfilling the letter of the contract or council staff with instructions to get a repair done in the least time possible. Relaying it with replacement flagstones would take longer but would probably be more durable.Looks awful.
I am sure that one of the reasons people don’t seem to care about dropping litter etc is that the state doesn’t give a fk about the quality of our public realm.
They just do the cheapest sttiest job possible.
Every time I visit Europe this difference becomes so clear. Generally they care. Look at the pavements in Portugal for example or the public squares in France.
I am sure that one of the reasons people don’t seem to care about dropping litter etc is that the state doesn’t give a f
k about the quality of our public realm. They just do the cheapest s
ttiest job possible. Every time I visit Europe this difference becomes so clear. Generally they care. Look at the pavements in Portugal for example or the public squares in France.
blueg33 said:
Every time I visit Europe this difference becomes so clear. Generally they care. Look at the pavements in Portugal for example or the public squares in France.
How long ago was this? If you go now you won't even be able to see them as they are covered in human fecal matter.The answer is most likely the councils highway team has next to no money, let alone money to spare on making things over and above functional.
Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won’t meet the intervention levels and won’t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won’t meet the intervention levels and won’t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
Tigerj said:
The answer is most likely the councils highway team has next to no money, let alone money to spare on making things over and above functional.
Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won t meet the intervention levels and won t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
Indeed.Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won t meet the intervention levels and won t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
We have cut and cut so much since 2016 that there is a mountain to climb. However, respect for our public realm and doing the job properly has been an issue for much longer.
Tisy said:
blueg33 said:
Tisy said:
How long ago was this? If you go now you won't even be able to see them as they are covered in human fecal matter.
What on earth are you on about?Edited by blueg33 on Thursday 10th July 09:36
Tigerj said:
The answer is most likely the councils highway team has next to no money, let alone money to spare on making things over and above functional.
Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won t meet the intervention levels and won t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
Councils are social care organisations that do a bit of road repair and bin collecting on the side, they really are doing the minimum they can legally get away with.Tarmac will be cheaper and quicker. The other flagstones won t meet the intervention levels and won t be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
They did this in my local town, everybody kicked up a fuss about. The council then said it was a temporary fix and replacement flags had been ordered and were replaced a week or 2 later. So you never know if your local facebook group kicks up enough fuss they will pretend it is all under control and will be fixed properly as soon as the paperwork has been signed.
blueg33 said:
Looks awful.
I am sure that one of the reasons people don t seem to care about dropping litter etc is that the state doesn t give a fk about the quality of our public realm.
They just do the cheapest sttiest job possible.
Every time I visit Europe this difference becomes so clear. Generally they care. Look at the pavements in Portugal for example or the public squares in France.
been to the US a few times over the last couple of years and every time I am staggered by the lack of litter in most of the places we've visited (not to mention well cared for verges)I am sure that one of the reasons people don t seem to care about dropping litter etc is that the state doesn t give a f
k about the quality of our public realm. They just do the cheapest s
ttiest job possible. Every time I visit Europe this difference becomes so clear. Generally they care. Look at the pavements in Portugal for example or the public squares in France.
MesoForm said:
Councils are social care organisations that do a bit of road repair and bin collecting on the side, they really are doing the minimum they can legally get away with.
dunno about that - councils seem to be a way of funnelling money into grifters' pockets first and foremost.We had the same outside our house. Our road has a grass verge with trees planted that looks very nice, originall done in the 50s/60s. As the trees have died over the years, they have been replaced with ones inappropriate for their situation - for example, the one outside our house wasn't much than a sapling when we moved in 20 years ago, however now it is huge and roots are encroaching on our drains and I suspect are probably not too far from our foundations.
Repeated reports on fixmystreet have got some pruning but it covers our cars in crap most of the year round. It has destroyed the kerbstones by breaking them and pushing them into the road, and they have just been removed now, and the roots also broke and pushed up the paving stones on the pavement. The fix was to pour tarmac there instead (black, to contrast with the pinky coloured slabs
) which cracked within a few weeks. It's an absolute shambles. And this follows completely repaving the entire pavement about 5 years ago which was a lacklustre job replacing the original 1950s/60s pavers which still looked good except for a few cracked ones...
Repeated reports on fixmystreet have got some pruning but it covers our cars in crap most of the year round. It has destroyed the kerbstones by breaking them and pushing them into the road, and they have just been removed now, and the roots also broke and pushed up the paving stones on the pavement. The fix was to pour tarmac there instead (black, to contrast with the pinky coloured slabs
) which cracked within a few weeks. It's an absolute shambles. And this follows completely repaving the entire pavement about 5 years ago which was a lacklustre job replacing the original 1950s/60s pavers which still looked good except for a few cracked ones...Looks like the kerb has been dropped at some point and the flags have cracked, it will be easier to follow the dips and dives of the remaining flags using tarmac than if using new ones. I agree it looks crap, but it’s the councils land so they do whatever is cheapest and easiest, they always do the bare minimum. My son is a highways inspector, I’ll ask his opinion when he gets back.
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