Working practices allow free use of the pavements by vehicles as an extension of the road surface. Sometimes vehicles are tucked onto the pavement in order to clear the road for other cars. Any pedestrians just have to take pot luck when venturing around them. Sometimes the abundance of crossovers gives free and easy access to the pavement (no bumping tyres on the kerb) and the loss of the trees can allow free movement along the pavement for some distance.Any resultant damage is then the duty of the pavement people to investigate and classify as either unsightly or to mark it up and indicate the degree of urgency for the work from the public purse (allocating an ‘intervention level’ assessment). Unless an official sees the pavement actually being damaged or has a witness to say the same, it appears that nothing can be done – and the ‘mystery’ as to why the pavements are so badly damaged is left hanging in the air and the pavement purse picks up the tab.Now I have some good news, and some bad news.One of my elderly neighbours when given the opportunity to speak to some of our visitors told them of the lack of dropped kerbstones for access onto and off the pavements when she goes shopping. She described the difficulties and said how hard it must be for people pushing prams and buggies around. She is frail and has to plan a trip to the shops with careful consideration and takes a wheelie shopping basket to drop her shopping into which also gives her some support. With arthritis the bumping of the trolley up and down the high kerbs means her hands, arms and elbows can be very painful by the time she reaches home. She can also experience severe pain in her upper arms and shoulders just from a walk without the trolley as she has to bend double to check out where she places her feet on the unstable pavements. She asked some visitors if the kerbs could be dropped and then she wrote to the Civic centre with a copy to Cllr Reid and was sent a very nice reply to say that it was now on a work schedule. The good news is they have been out and marked up the drops and have (very quickly) arrived to start work.The bad news is tucked inside the photographs. Plenty of space on the road whilst the excavations for the dropped kerbs go on – it is amazing the amount of work that goes in to doing this.The pavements are neatly and clearly closed off and protective areas signed up for pedestrians – this is busy a walk to school route and a busy vehicle cut through to the A4 in the rush hour.I took these photographs to show the type of working going on – not to get the workers into trouble, just as I have explained before. As Jorgen said on the earlier pavement thread, they are just doing their job, and I don’t doubt that. The two guys are Polish (learning English) and probably work either as they are told, or as best as they can just as with other types of building work going on. They appear to be working very hard (no protective head gear when using those diabolical grinders though, there was a huge cloud of cement or granite dust as I approached but they had stopped by the time I got there).So, who issues the working directives, meaningfully?Yesterday I came past and the same lorry was high up on another pavement opposite, well clear of the road surface and opposite was a Hounslow Council white van – with official sat inside on his mobile. He was directly opposite the lorry on the pavement – and yes, I have his vehicle number.After taking the photos today I walked along a bit further and another white van pulled off the road driving onto and along the pavement in front of me – right across the paving slabs. The person stayed there for a minute or so, then pulled off and drove a bit further along and pulled off the road onto a crossover and after getting a green recycling box from the rear of the van, took it across the road to a house before driving off again.Again, the issue is – this is what goes on – so, is this right? Or is something due for a change?
Sarah Felstead ● 6603d