Bristol - A38 - Glass

[mgarl10024]

Hi,

This story is quite reassuring, but also may be useful for any who travels along this route.

I was cycling home along the A38 in Bristol opposite Hempton Lane / Patchway Hill School and I noticed a huge amount of glass on the shared path. I stopped and looked around, and noticed that the giant 'window' in this bus stop had been smashed. I walked my bike well out of the way of the glass which was a good 2-3m all around the bus stop.
As it was raining, I thought that I wouldn't stop immediately and phone up South Glos Council's Streetcare, but that I would do it when I got home.

I cycle a quarter of a mile down a quite side street towards home when I spot a PCSO walking along. I stopped and called out:
Me: "Are you a PSCO?"
PCSO: "I am indeed". He walks over.
Me: "Just wondered if you'd seen that bus stop?"
PCSO: "Yes thanks. It's just been called in."
Me: "Great. Do you let Streetcare know?"
PCSO: "Yeah - they've already been informed."
Me: "Excellent - thanks!".

The System Works....

 

[summerdays]

I've not heard of Streetcare before now.... but I have reported problems on the Fix My Street site before now ... though with one problem - a missing drain cover they wanted to know the lamp-post number ... but I didn't note it down!!! Though I gave them enough details that they should have been able to get within 20m of it... but they kept insisting they needed this lamp post number or house number.

 

[mgarl10024]

As a regular user of cycle paths, I have often found it difficult to know who the correct people are to talk to if you need something doing around these.

There's Sustrans and BetterByBike, but I've used StreetCare a number of times. I suspect that the former two would even refer their issues to StreetCare, but I don't know that for sure.

I've used StreetCare for glass on the cycle paths a number of times and within a few days it's usually gone. I've also used them for public bins at the top of my road which were overflowing with litter spilling out everywhere, and once for a cracked/broke BT cover in the middle of a pavement which exposed a large drop (easily enough to brake an ankle) and within a day there were orange cordons around it and it was repaired within a week or so.

I'm not sure how they will fare with the cuts on the way, but until now they've been pretty impressive.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Sometimes the fact that they clean it up really isn't special - I know of a park around here and every few days people end up drinking there at night and you have empty bottles, boxes where the bottles were in, plastic and no end of stuff, I have photos somewhere (that my boss took as he was on this battle). Yes, they cleaned it up that morning but nothing was ever done to try and actually stop this occuring in the first place, it just kept happening again and again.

I've not heard of Streetcare before now.... but I have reported problems on the Fix My Street site before now ... though with one problem - a missing drain cover they wanted to know the lamp-post number ... but I didn't note it down!!! Though I gave them enough details that they should have been able to get within 20m of it... but they kept insisting they needed this lamp post number or house number.

PSCOs use fixmystreet around here from time to time, council doesn't pay any more attention to them than they do anything else. (Otherwise I would post under their name, as its only text )

I prefer fillthathole these days for cycling or road related problems, flytipping and the like I still use fixmystreet.

@Summerdays

I have had this problem before when trying to tell our land owners about the broken gutter on the garages (which is still broken after 2-3 years to this day, half hanging off too), they insisted on my address but I didn't want to give it, I eventually relented... well a few days later they came around and fixed OUR guttering, not the garage OUR... I didn't even know ours was broken. (btw I have followed up but nothing as usual).

 

[summerdays]

It wasn't my address but the lamp-post nearest the missing cover ... they actually responded asking me to phone them so that they could respond quickly and it was fixed the next time I was back that way (about 5 miles away) 2 days later. It was more the fact that I didn't know the area but I had zoomed in on street view to the exact point to mark the map - but that they apparently needed the other reference ... I ended up using Streetview to look at house numbers.

I like the way Fixmystreet keeps you informed of local problems ... I notice that a poor road surface that I reported a couple of years ago has been re-reported by someone else - I know why it hasn't been fixed ... its an old concrete road that needs replacing rather than repairing.

 

[Davidc]

On my trips to Bristol I usually park the car near Long Ashton and then ride in from there, a mix of cycle paths and roads. I've noticed a number of times that glass on paths and roads is there at 7:30 in the morning, presumably from the night before - usually bottles and occasionally car or bus shelter glass - and it mostly seems to get cleared up before I go home about 11 hours later.

Someone must be reporting and clearing it but I don't have a clue who to report it to.Is there a 'phone number I should have in my mobile?

 

[summerdays]

Well I have just gone and looked at the Better By Bike website and found:

Bristol
Pot holes and poor surfaces

You can submit a Street Fault online. However if the fault is urgent then you should use the phone to report a problem, contact Bristol City Council on 0117 922 2100 (from 8.30 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday, choose option 3. All other times - 0117 922 2050)

Use this number to report glass on the footway or highway or cycleway and it should be cleared within 24 hours. To receive an update on your call, quote your postcode to the operator.

I must get around to putting it in my mobile phone.

It's on the Report a problem page: http://www.betterbybike.info/report-a-problem

 

[Davidc]

I've stuck them in my phone so can join in the whingeing reporting.