Holes of concern for councillor

Andrew Cowie • Published 14 Jan 2010 15:13 2 Comments

Cowdenbeath councillor John Simpson has written to Fife Council transportation boss Dr Bob McLellan asking for immediate action to be taken to address the condition of the road surface on Cowdenbeath High Street.

Mr Simpson says that some of the pot holes that have appeared over recent days are getting worse and are a danger to drivers and pedestrians alike.

Fife Council's transportation department has been surveying the High Street and are aware of the problems posed by the holes.

Councillor Simpson told the Times, "I understand that the severe frost is having a bad impact on the condition of roads and pavements but the council will need to be geared up to tackle the worst effects as a matter of urgency as they pose real health and safety risks for drivers and indeed pedestrians.

"The surface on Cowdenbeath High Street is simply breaking up in places and while I don't drive, I can see that these holes will cause real damage to cars and more importantly poses a risk to people.

"I want immediate action to get the holes patched up and I will then be requesting a meeting to discuss what we are going to do to get the road properly fixed".

Mr Simpson, the former Provost of Fife, also warned that more money will need to be found to deal with the frost damage to roads right across Fife.

Frank Warrington from the transportation service said that inspectors had been out and about on the High Street and had located a number of holes needing attention.

He hoped that repair teams would be able to tackle these problems in the very near future.

But Councillor Simpson added, "The true cost of this winter will not be known for many months to come but it is clear that more money will be required to mend the roads and pavements that have been damaged by the frost.

"It is now about reprioritising and I am not convinced that we can continue to spend millions on celebrating Fife and putting adverts on the telly while our roads and pavements disintegrate and are not safe for people to use.".

He concluded, "What this winter shows is that the majority of people expect their local council to deliver basic local services to a satisfactory standard and that is where our priority as councillors must focus".

Tweet

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

• 

  Susan Archibald
  Unregistered User
  Jan 19, 14:10
  Report comment

  Totally agree with John Simpson above as Kelty's roads are just the same xxx there are more holes in the road than in "ma grannies crochet blanket"
  
  Time for action, why are we paying council tax when our roads and pavements were not even safe, I was particularly discusted at the pure lack of service Kelty received.
  
  I remember when I was a road sweeper and spent days clearing paths and digging buses and royal mail vans out of Kelty main street.
  
  How could the road sweepers not use there own initiative like I did and clear main roads, schools, old folks homes and sheltered housing complexes & paths, it seems an act of compassion is beyond people these days, how far has society turned when we were all brought up to help thy neighbour.
  
  What happend to all the community service hrs that could have been used for this?
  
  My message to Fife Council is they seriously have to get there act together, I know they ran out of salt but there is so much happening in this council that it is time we start to hold them accountable.
  
  Anyone out there with me on this
  
  Susan Archibald
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

• 

  Malcolm Smith
  Unregistered User
  Jan 27, 15:38
  Report comment

  Susan, they are too busy building pointless speed bumps on main roads with low accident rates, such as Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, to worry about Cowdenbeaths pot holes or ordering the right amount of salt for the Winter.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

Post a comment

Your Comment:

Registered users log in here

Username or email

Password

If you are registered with us, you can login here. If you are not registered, do so now.
Once logged in you wont have to complete word verification each time you post.

Prefer not to register?

Screen Name *required

Email (not displayed) *required

Usernames must be 4 - 20 characters. Registration only takes a few minutes. Registered users can also take part in competitions and other features of the site.

Word Verification:
Enter the text as shown.

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Follow @dunfermlinep