Blackpool’s £6m mission to fix potholes – but calls for earlier intervention

Blackpool Council has spent nearly £6miliion improving road surfaces across the town, including repairing potholes, since the end of last year.

The council’s highways department have fixed more than 50 roads, with more repairs on the way.

But a councillor has called on the authority to be more pro-active in dealing with erosion, to prevent the roads developing potholes in the first place

Cllr Julie Sloman said the issue was particularly urgent in the case of the Fylde coast’s cyclists, who risk serious injury when they encounter potholes.

She has asked the council to consider dealing with repairs whilst they are minor rather than for them to breach the minimum 40 mm intervention threshold.

The scale of the council’s effort to improve roads was highlighted in a report by Cllr Paula Burdess, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Street

Scene and Neighbourhoods, who presented a report to Full Council on Wednesday.

Cllr Burdess said: “Since November last year, in Highways we have spent £5.7million resurfacing 55 roads and in quarter 3 a further 19 will be completed.

“Work is carrying on apace and will continue. I’d like to thank the Highways team for working really hard, especially in this hot weather, as it takes longer for the tarmac to set.

“We’re doing everything we can to deliver on our mission for improving the highways network in Blackpool.”

Cllr Sloman said: “I think it’s absolutely fantastic that we’ve spent £6m sorting our roads out, and it’s fantastic we’ve sorted out 15,000 potholes and that we are ninth in the league table for sorting out potholes.

“It does beg the question though; had road surfaces being attended at a early stage, they may not have developed into potholes, therefore that money could have gone a little bit further.

Health and safety

“I ask not just in terms of financial prudence, but moreover in terms of health and safety.

“For cyclists, potholes are not just an expensive inconvenience – they are a serious threat to life and limb.

“While motorists mostly experience damaged suspensions or flat tires, cyclists face immediate hazards from being thrown over the handlebars, suffering severe trauma, or veering into the path of traffic.

“The disproportionate danger for cyclists comes down to the fundamental physics of riding a two-wheeled vehicle:

“If a bicycle wheel drops into and abruptly rolls out of a pothole, the sudden deceleration can pitch the rider over the handlebars.

“Potholes also tend to form near the kerb, which is exactly where cyclists are expected to ride. Swerving to avoid a hole can force cyclists into the flow of fast-moving traffic. “

Cllr Sloman said  at least 255 people have been seriously injured or killed due to road defects across the UK in the last seven years.

Accidents monitored

Cllr Burdess responded: “I am a member of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership and we do monitor all the accidents that take place across the Lancashire footprint.

“In Blackpool, there are few if any cycling accidents of the gravity you describe, but where accidents are reported we monitor them and will act on that kind of incident. We are monitoring them regularly.

“Yes, we take on board fast action is needed against potholes becoming huge problems, absolutely. We do what we can but have to prioritise the busiest roads.

“Where  there is a safety aspect we will respond immediately.”