Upgrading York's flood-hit infrastructure could hit £5 million (From York Press)

And the Council want to spend £275,000 of our money on a `barge arts project`.Come off it; let's see some sensible prioritising by this wasteful council.

No problem with using tax payers money on things like flood and drainage messures to help protect york, its when the waste our money on cycle paths that anoy me!

voiceofnormalpeople wrote:
No problem with using tax payers money on things like flood and drainage messures to help protect york, its when the waste our money on cycle paths that anoy me!

Voice of normal people ? Bit presumptuous isn't it ?

... starting figure £5m, watch it rise in olympian fashion as consultants and civil engineers, environmentalists etc are asked to draw plans etc. The end result... nothing as Labour will be out of council leadership, someone else will have been voted in, disagree as a political principle and the whole process will start again.

I sometimes walk to work (if I am not walking, I cycle, using a cycle path(some of which are maintained by Sustrans and not paid for by the tax payer - as an occasional cyclist, I would rely on the cycle paths to get me where I need to be without needing a wet-suit!!).

I digress.

It does not take Einstein to understand what the problem is when it comes to surface water - a third of all water drains are blocked!

I have counted all the drains I pass and can see drain after drain blocked and its normally the ones that are well placed to accept most water i.e. at the bottom of a slight hill/on a junction.

It works out at just over 32% (so not exactly a third).

The simplest thing that York City Council needs to do is;

1. Put in place a reporting telephone line (like what is in place for street lighting) so members of the public can report blocked drains.

2. Get teams of council workers out on the street looking out for blocked drains when it's actually raining - there is no point wasting time inspecting drains when it hasn't rained for a week!!!

3. There are some crazy-assed ideas about road works as well - for example, when the road was widened on Peasholme Green many moons ago, some fool thought it would be a good idea to tarmac over a drain outside St Cuthberts Church. No rainwater runs out from Aldwark/St Saviourgate junction, all along Peasholme Green to two drains outside Ware & Peters Solicitors thus allowing any pedestrians to get absolutely soaked should a bus enter the left-hand lane wanting to turn into Jewbury. When it rains hard, that turns into a fairly big stream of water! So, consider this when undertaking work on the roads.

There is no need for it to cost £5m, it just needs a bit of common sense and foresightedness applying.