Thornfield Avenue 'a public disgrace'
SELKIRK community councillors were told this week that the road surface at Thornfield Avenue was "a public disgrace".
"When, oh when, is someone going to take action?" asked exasperated local resident Jim Bradley during the open forum section of Monday's meeting.
And after hearing from Councillor Kenneth Gunn (Selkirkshire) that improvement works by Scottish Borders Council would not start before next year at the earliest, Mr Bradley blasted: "It's incredible ... it's 2010 and you cannot mend a road."
His discontent is shared by Elspeth Douglas, manager of Thornfield House nursing home, who told The Wee Paper about the difficulties faced by her staff and residents because of the badly rutted road.
"It's actually adversely affecting the quality of life of people here," said Ms Douglas who recently had to replace the steering column of her car after driving over a pothole.
"The pavements are narrow and also in a dreadful state, so staff and relatives have to go on to the road if they are taking out residents in wheelchairs.
"It's almost impossible to negotiate all the holes and ruts and visitors to the home invariably complain about the state of the road."
One non-wheelchair bound Thornfield House resident, Betty Shiel, 83, said: "I really struggle to get around ... things have got much worse since the winter."
Mr Bradley said the problems began in the 1980s when the local authority of the time laid tarmacadam on top of the reinforced concrete roadway which was built, along with the houses, in the 1930s.
"I am not certain why the road was made of concrete, but it was perfectly adequate until the tar was laid. Ever since, we have been plagued with potholes. The tar simply does not stick to the concrete and, although it has been patched several times since, it is now as bad as it has ever been, posing an unacceptable risk to motorists and pedestrians."
On Monday, Councillor Gunn admitted past attempts to remove the tarmacadam completely had been unsuccessful and the surface had been patched at least four times.
"The fact is you just cannot get tarmac to stick on concrete, but there is a new plastic synthetic bond which is available," said Mr Gunn.
"I have been pressing for action on this since I became a councillor (in 2007] and this new material was due to be used this summer.
"However, lurking on the horizon is Scottish Gas who will be laying new mains pipes at Thornfield in September or October, so the earliest the bonding can take place is next spring."
Mr Bradley told him: "That sounds like a promise of free beer tomorrow".
But although Mr Gunn accepted that SBC was under severe financial constraint, he told us: "I will be pressing for this work to be carried out next year and will not be prepared to hear the budget used as an excuse to delay the work further. The people of Thornfield have suffered enough."
Eddie Hermiston, who lives in Thornfield Avenue, welcomed that commitment but added:
"Everybody down here feels we have been forgotten. It may cost a lot of money to sort out once and for all and if the concrete cannot be removed, then a much deeper layer of tarmac should be applied.
"I don't drive now, but I know many motorists who have broken their suspensions. My main concern, though, is for the elderly residents – and a lot live down here – just getting about on foot.
"New pavements would be one possibility if the money for the roadway cannot be found, but my own view is that if any project is deserving of public money it is this.
"It galls me, for instance, that they can find millions to create a new visitor centre at Abbotsford when surely one of the rooms there could be more modestly and less expensively adapted."
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Weather for Selkirk
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: West
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Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 8 C
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