When Enough really is Enough

Things that annoy me & I suspect the British people as a whole include; People talking without hands free on mobile phones whilst driving, Persistent Chuggers, dog owners that don't clean up after their dog, foreign call centres & people that park in disabled bays when they're not disabled.Most of all and rapidly rising up that  list must be utility/road works that seem to go on for ever?

I know most cities are blighted by this predicament up and down the country on an almost never ending basis, but add into the mix the lack of a ring road, a city dissected by a temperamental river & numerous one way streets/systems you have the recipe to make peoples commute a little less pleasant in the Faithful City.

Recent history has shown the impact of these on commuters in the City, the shutting of Tolladine Road for almost 2 months to carry out repairs on the Railway Bridge and the never ending Foregate Street Station bridge restoration.These works were originally scheduled for three months , but have over ran for another 4 months. Admittedly new problems were found which for what ever reason were not spotted earlier. However this does not excuse the fact the amount of 'lost time' that occurs on these projects. For example during the Christmas period the busiest for most places, Construction workers were off for two weeks. Yet the road restrictions still remained in place causing misery for thousands. On Tolladine the road was closed off and Workmen were missing for days (I know this personally as it is on my drive to & from work).


It has driven me to campaign to do something about this as I believe that there is not enough scrutiny or accountability of utility companies or contractors, no one questions what they do, how they do it & how quickly they do it? Ultimately in most of these cases the tax payers are footing the bill for these projects, yet we always seem to get a raw deal, with projects over running regularly and days on end where no productivity occurs. Typically a road work repair even a minor one, will result in the contractor , putting out cones and traffic control measures, digging a little hole as a token gesture to show something is occurring and then they disappear not to be seen for a few days' yet the poor motorist & road user gets to suffer time & time again.

However we have a chance to redress the balance, I have heard of a major road closure on the North side of the City which will result in a major arterial route into the city being closed for a minimum of five weeks from 17th Feb 2013. An application has been made by Severn Trent for a road closure in order to carry out sewerage & drainage works on Sunny side Road opposite the entrance to Ghulevelt park on Barbourne Road from 10th Feb 2013. These works are to deal with alleged flooding and blockage issue that regularly occur. The impact of these will be significant as it will mean the closure of the south side of Ombersley road from Checketts lane to the Barbourne road fork. Traffic travelling South into the city on Ombersley road will be diverted on to Checketts Lane in order for it to join the Droitwich Road. As usual accesses to frontages will as always be possible.

Although I do not cover that side of the city as a ward Councillor, I have had residents contact me already about it as they believe it is a Community Safety issue, bizarre you may think but thinking about it at a micro level, incidents of road rage & general impatience increase in prolonged periods of delay, not to mention the amount of time it will increase on a commuters journey. Those with already busy lives may find that the daily commute to work will increase by 20 mins plus each way . Simple maths shows that you may have to endure an extra 2.5 hrs a week on your commute, that's 2.5 hrs less with the kids or walking your dog & ultimately 2.5 hrs less enjoying the things you like doing most for five weeks or more, a definite impact on the quality of peoples lives.


A quote from a  resident who wishes to remain anonymous stated:

"This is going to cause weeks of misery for commuters in and out of the city. "

Another resident stated:

"The flood alleviation works are absolutely necessary. But it's hard to believe that the Ombersley and Barbourne Roads will need to be closed continuously for such a long period."

Another resident who was fuming stated:

" There will be many weekends, days and nights when no work is carried out at all, as with all work of this type. There will be many days when the work that is being carried out is not going to directly impact the major through route. But instead of considering the convenience of thousands of commuters and hundreds of Worcester residents, and adjusting road closures to minimise the impact, the convenience of the contractors will be paramount, as usual. "

If you want to grin and bear it like we do most of the time then carry on as normal, but if you think that you can make a difference by challenging & scrutinising utility companies & contractors in order even if it was to save a day or two of misery then please use the methods below to write in, email, tweet your concern to me & Severn Trent
There is a public Meeting about the proposed closure on Wednesday 30th January 2013 at Worcester City FC Between 3pm & 7pm

or contact Simon Williamson from contractor Morgan Sindall 07772 894968 or ST on 08007834444
E-mail  customercare@severntrent.co.uk  Twitter @stwater