Our roads are falling apart...London...

[NicholasP]

Guys can anyone tell me what the roads are like out of London? I'm hoping that they're better than in London. Ignoring congestion and rogue cyclists, and 21 year olds with BMWs, and the occasional crazy white van...the actual road surface on a majority of London's roads is appauling...

I live in south west london in Barnes..It's a nice quiet area but one of the main roads in it is simply to die over. Pothole after bump..after dip...after pothole. Its a nightmare driving down it

Wherever I drive in London, im always dodging bumps, and holes and cracks in the road. I've noticed it has got alot worse recently and I know the governemnt is aware of it due to numerous complaints from the public..but is there a brighter future for our roads?

Or is it just going to get worse...

[MalcQV]

I think it is just getting worse. We have I understand one of the poorest quality roads in Europe.

If you read road tests on cars in magazines they normally mention that "The car tested well in Europe, but lets see how it does on the UK roads".

Just heard we are to get congestion charging in Manchester by 2011. They are apparently going to improve the public transport first

[Marc97]

Just goes to show that all the tax we pay as car users DOESN'T go back into road maintenance, all it does is pay for wars we have nothing to do with!!!!

As for the congestion charge in Manchester, saw that in Thursdays paper Malc and I would imagine they would have to fix the roads as well as our poor public transport. Can you imagine thousands of fully loaded double decker buses weighing god knows how many tonnes on Oldham road every day.
They's spend more time with the road closed because they'd have to keep repairing it due to the extra pressure on the surface. Someone hasn't really thought this through!!!!

[MalcQV]

Marc,
You should read this if you have not already - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....harge_due.html

They are going to extend the Metrolink, not sure how it helps me though.

Download the pdf and just look at the "corridors". Are we going to be charged to use them in both directions? They will charge to use the main routes, therefore the motorways will be even more chocca!

I live not far from the A580, soon as I hit that I will pay! I hope the public transport is going to be good

[Marc97]

It all makes my blood boil mate. I watched the video and as they were filming at the metrolink station, an announcement came over saying there would be delays due to a broken down tram!
They go on about lost costs in production due to traffic jams, just wait until a few trams or buses break down and a couple of thousand people miss a full mornings work rather than just half an hour or so because of a jam.

As I said, they won't be able to cope with the extra passengers, I don't think they realise how big of a brain dead idea this is.

Register your car to a dead person, that will stop you being liable as since they brought out all the new laws about V5 documents etc, they now say that a vehicle is the responsibility of the recorded keeper, not neccessarily the current keeper or user!!!!

I could rant forever about this, the best thing that could happen to me if/when this comes in is that someone cuts my legs off, I don't drive because I need to, I drive because I want to and I love driving. Now its gonna cost even more (as if that was morally possible) to do something I enjoy!

[MalcQV]

Well it is early days yet, so lets see how it pans out. From what I understand the London congestion charges are done differently?

Anyone care to comment on the London congestion charges?

[NicholasP]

london congestion charge costs £8...! There's 8 cameras at the entrance of each road leading into the congestion zone which make sure that if you're in, you're on camera...you can either pay the £8 before you go in..or in the evening..but if you forget, or enter the congestion zone without realising, a £50 fine comes your way. The congestion charge area used to be just central london including the city..so it really wasn't too much of a problem. Everyone just takes the tube to work....nobody drove cause there was nowhere to park. However now they've extended it westwards so it covers quite a large area forcing you to rely on public transport..(and pay a fiver whenever u want to get from a to b)...

[Eshrules]

ill pass comment on the ruddy potholes and dips, i live in stalybridge and loads of the roads around mine resemble more of a farmyard lane than a main road. to think i pay nearly £200 a year roadtax, i probably spend that in repairs and punctured tyres. whats even worse is some jumped up copper decided to pull me for erratic driving, when i tried to explain i had simply been avoiding the potholes, he shrugged his shoulders! figure that one out.....

[skymaster]

It's a sad state of affaires really. Our roads all over the country are comparible to that of 3rd world and communist countries. I guess it's fair to say that those the govern us hate the idea of us plebs actually driving a car so they are more than happy for our roads to sink into a desperate state of disrepair!

But the people of london should have expected worse when they elected commy Ken into power (twice). What were they thinking????

[adamss24]

It's a sad state of affaires really. Our roads all over the country are comparible to that of 3rd world and communist countries. I guess it's fair to say that those the govern us hate the idea of us plebs actually driving a car so they are more than happy for our roads to sink into a desperate state of disrepair!

But the people of london should have expected worse when they elected commy Ken into power (twice). What were they thinking????

These politicians should have predicted the demografic explosion long time ago, as the germans did some 50 years ago ! There's sooo much money that fill councils and government coffers but that wont make them spend taxpayers money on repairing and improving our roads...the standard of repairs are poor and the speed bumps and the other obstacles(read pietons refuge islands) make the traffic even more slower than its allready ! After that they hit you with the congestion charges and parking fines because all the available parking spaces have been transformed into "bus lanes" and these big, diesel guzzling, smoke belching busses run empty most of the times, apart from peak times ! Why they can do that ? Because off the fu@@ing Oyster cards and because people rush to pay their travelcards ...thus enabling the British transport do what they like and when they like ! I have lived in London for 8 years and i am fed up with it ! The street crime gone up, councils forces you to buy resident permits, all the parking spaces in front of the shops on main streets are putting even more money into their bank accounts and the Londoners have to pick up the bill for the olimpics as well !?! I am a van driver(carpenter by trade) and i have to haul my tools with me every time i go to a job. I have to put up with traffic lights on the motorways(Have you seen any in Europe ?), busy junctions, ignorant bikers and i end up refusing jobs in and arround central london, because of over zealous traffic wardens and inexistent parking spaces or verry expensive parking fees. You guys should wake up, as a matter of fact, i have never voted since i came here, merely because i am too busy to think about politics or watch any of the politicians talk shows ! I foresee that in few years they will charge us for breathing the bloody air as well ! Look around you and ask yourself why all those PC walk on the streets without doing **** all, while thiefs operate undisturbed. They wont get scared of uniforms...