YP Letters: Potholes are peril for cyclists as well as drivers

A JUSTIFIABLE theme in the letters columns of The Yorkshire Post is the appalling state of the nation’s roads, be they country lanes or major routes.

As a cyclist, with a motor car, the deterioration in the road surfaces is clear to witness with, as far as I can see, very little being done to address the problems associated with too many – and often – deep potholes.

This year I have experienced a form of whiplash, as a cyclist, with very little chance to enjoy a ride into the North Yorkshire countryside without one or both wheels dropping into a pothole.

Repair to the roads depend on two important factors – money and manpower. The amount of money made available by the Government to local councils is never enough and the councils themselves have limited highway maintenance staff, compared to years ago. When local authorities became “enabling authorities” staff numbers were allowed to decrease as highway repairs were to be effected by the letting of private contracts.

When that system was introduced it was inevitable that nothing much would be done as local government has found ways to avoid letting contracts on a vast scale. Meanwhile our roads cry out for wholesale repair as they continue to go to pot.