Ban Surface dressing of roads, sign the Petition

[geocycle]

Just come back from France and Spain, why can't we have road surfaces like they do? Wonderful silky smooth Tarmac. I was in the mountains so it's not just weather. They also don't seem to be so patched up, if it needs repair they shut the road and do the lot.

 

[dickyknees]

Done

 

[marknotgeorge]

Signed. Wish they'd sort the roads round here properly. Kedleston Road is truly awful.

 

[numbnuts]

If you get it banned it would be a cop-out for the councils to do sod all

 

[marknotgeorge]

If you get it banned it would be a cop-out for the councils to do sod all

Like what they do already? Kedleston Road hasn't even been tarred and chipped for donkeys' years.

 

[GrasB]

If you get it banned it would be a cop-out for the councils to do sod all

In all honesty that's a better option. I know of several locations which have been surface dressed many times. The result is that suddenly huge chunks of surface detach and move about in the hole. At least with a proper pothole you can actually see the fact the surface is degraded.

I'd also mention that I ended up drifting my bike round a recently dressed corner at about 10mph, I put my front wheel on the very narrow line of cleared line but this just caused the rear wheel to roll through the uncleared stones Next thing I know is I've got opposite lock on and I'm using the front brake to keep me upright! The rider behind me didn't have good bike handling skills and went in faster so hit the deck quite hard.

 

[Soltydog]

Signed & shared so hopefully get a few more sigs

 

[montage]

Once councils get enough money from the government to repair and upkeep the roads, then I will agree with the sentiment, but my understanding is that funds for roads are well below what each council needs so they have to make do. I don't like surface dressing either, but it does eventually bed down and with a finite amount of cash, councils often do the best they can.

You tend to see a spike in surface dressing towards the review of the budget. Council budgets tend to work on a use it or lose it philosophy - so if they don't use their road maintenance budget up, they get a reduced budget next year. Councils' solution - spend the budget on surface dressing as a quick fix. Hence why you see perfectly good quality roads being resurfaced - nobody has inspected them, it's just office politics. There would be enough money if you removed the mismanagement

 

[Wafer]

Not sure I quite believe that.... Surface dressing (and resurfacing) tends to happen in the summer when the weather should be better. I certainly don't think it is used as a way of spending money that they can't otherwise find a home for, road maintenance budgets are tight enough as it is without having surplus.

If places aren't being inspected properly before surface dressing it's probably got more to do with lack of staff to do them.

One of the most common reasons people contact the County Council here is about 'problems on the highway', it might be that people have complained about an area and, whether you agree with it or not, they might be surface dressing to address some complaints/comments.

That's certainly my experience round here, other local authorities may differ I guess.

 

[snorri]

I've started a petition to increase Road Tax in order to raise sufficient funds to improve the roads.

 

[Bollo]

I've started a petition to increase Road Tax in order to raise sufficient funds to improve the roads.

You scamp!

 

[Bollo]

Not a huge believer in petitions, but I hate surface dressing more. Signed.

 

[John the Monkey]

Why don't they run a road roller over it afterwards, surely that would help bed in the new stone. Its almost like they've done half the job.

Mostly because the action of traffic, properly managed, does the job of rolling.

A lot of the problems in the UK stem from improper application, failure of traffic to obey the posted limits, and lack of aftercare. Cheshire East, to their credit, at least swept the carriageway done recently near me.

Traffic routinely ignored the 20mph limit though, so this application will be knackered in no time at all (and the drivers will moan about how the council wasted money on it, and it chipped their cars, and blah blah).

This article was a bit of an eye opener for me; http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/SDtext.htm

 

[youngoldbloke]

Yes, I've read that too. I think a major problem is improper application, and a failure to follow through with sweeping surplus grit, especially a problem on single track roads where the action of traffic will never work in compacting the surface, the result being drifts of chippings, in the centre and sides of the road. Recently a lot of this stuff has ended up deposited across roads on bends at the bottom of hilly stretches, washed down by the torrential rain showers we've had - extremely dangerous if you are on two wheels.

 

[Leaway2]

Done. The road on the commute lasted less than 6 months. Then it was bald in the car tracks, with mounds at the edges.