bootle - Champion Newspapers

14 • Visit us @ www.ChampNews.com CMBA The Champion • Wednesday 17 July 2013
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Making holes is a
booming business
I really am getting a bit steamed
up over the continual digging up
of our roads.
Now since I am largely a
pedestrian, you might think the
dreaded roadworks would not
upset me unduly. But they do.
For instance, twice a week I
travel from my home in Maghull
to Southport – by bus – to touch
base with my colleagues at
Champion Towers and to deliver
the results of my week’s work on
my memory stick.
I’ve been making this journey
for years and thought I knew
every bump, pothole and kink in
the road.
So I am in the habit of reading a
book pretty well all the way there
and back. Incidentally, that is a
side benefit to not owning a car.
But so far this year, on at least
three occasions I have been
roused from my reading by the
realisation that I am not where I
should be.
Major roadworks on the route
have see the bus being taken quite
literally miles out of its way –
sometimes for several days or
even weeks.
Now this in itself is diverting
(pun intended) and interesting
for me. But I don’t think I’d have
seen the funny side if I had
wanted to get on or off anywhere
where the bus could no longer go,
if you get my drift.
And just last week I was
interested to see that on one
‘closed’ stretch of road,
complete with eight–legger
tipper lorries and all the rest of
the paraphernalia, the bus was
being allowed through – but not
private cars.
Any smugness I might have felt
faded quickly though. A couple of
hours later I had an appointment
in Maghull with a chap driving
from Southport.
He was more than half an hour
late – because he had come up
against this same road work, and
not being a bus had been turned
back and had miles added to his
journey as a consequence.
These road works seem to be
proliferating.
And these days you often can’t
even tell who it is that’s doing the
excavations. Not long ago you
could see from the vehicles that it
was the electricity or gas board,
the council or the water people.
Now everyone seems to have
scrapped their own lorry fleets in
favour of using contractors.
I go to Ormskirk quite frequently
both for shopping and with Tina
(there are some good walks in
and around this lovely old market
town).
And at the moment the place
looks as though several bombs
have hit it, with craters all over
the shop.
Tina and I recently walked from
Ormskirk station to Aughton.
Having come across the extensive
road works in the town, we
thought we could avoid them on
our way back by using a footpath
running alongside the railway
line which ends in a short stretch
of very narrow road leading to a
few cottages.
I had to think again. Narrow
road, filled with wide wagons and
men in hard hats!
Here in Maghull, very near to
where I live there are emergency
sewer repairs being undertaken.
Now obviously this is vital an
necessary work.
What annoys me though is that
pedestrians are being diverted
because a flexible pipe extends
down the side road – and instead
of putting one of those ‘mats’
over it for those on foot to use,
instead weary (and often elderly)
shoppers, as well as mums with
prams, are being diverted too.
Not much of a diversion, true.
But frustrating if you are carrying
heavy bags.
And totally unnecessary.
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