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Thread: Which road in Caithness is in the worst condition

  1. #1
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    Default Which road in Caithness is in the worst condition

    How bad must the conditions of Caithness roads get before PROPER repairs are carried out,
    I don't mean a spray of white paint or a few cones (the powers that be think that cones are good for stopping busses falling of a crumbling road)
    You tell us which road is the worst.
    Last edited by gaza; 12-Mar-17 at 21:14.

  2. #2
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    Default worst road

    seriously, think there are too many bad roads to mention

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaza View Post
    How bad must the conditions of Caithness roads get before PROPER repairs are carried out,
    I don't mean a spray of white paint or a few cones (the powers that be think that cones are good for stopping busses falling of a crumbling road)
    You tell us which road is the worst.
    I don't know which road is worse but,

    Could there be a proper reason why the roads are not being repaired just now? Perhaps something to do with temperature, salinity or just a lack of daylight hours? I don't know what the answer is but it seems to me that if the council need to fix the problem in Caithness then they either have to increase the budget; reallocate more money to Caithness within the budget from another area or improve the efficiency of the repair methods. I suppose the best method would be to increase the overall budget but where is the money going to come from? Increase local taxation? Squeeze the budget from another area, say policing? Increase taxation with new powers with income tax? Or beg for more money from Westminster? Now it gets too political and fanciful. Oh yes, I forgot, we were just talking about the roads!

    How do you prefer the council should manage the problem with actions and a fully costed solution?
    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    Courage to change the things I can,
    And wisdom to know the difference.

  4. #4

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    Killimster Moss!

  5. #5
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    Large numbers of heavy trucks transporting wind turbine parts are one of the root causes. I believe that following award to construct the windfarm, the companies promise to pay HRC to repair all roads which they damage during the construction phase. I'd be interested to know if those sums of money are actually used to repair Caithness roads or whether its all sitting in some Inverness project ? Perhaps one of our Councillors could look into this ?

    GNG
    Green but not brainwashed

    Using the sun to provide hot water.
    Driving a car that gets 73 miles per gallon.....

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Green_not_greed View Post
    Large numbers of heavy trucks transporting wind turbine parts are one of the root causes. I believe that following award to construct the windfarm, the companies promise to pay HRC to repair all roads which they damage during the construction phase. I'd be interested to know if those sums of money are actually used to repair Caithness roads or whether its all sitting in some Inverness project ? Perhaps one of our Councillors could look into this ?

    GNG
    Yes those wind turbine parts are constantly on the move.
    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    Courage to change the things I can,
    And wisdom to know the difference.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by gaza View Post
    How bad must the conditions of Caithness roads get before PROPER repairs are carried out,
    I don't mean a spray of white paint or a few cones (the powers that be think that cones are good for stopping busses falling of a crumbling road)
    You tell us which road is the worst.
    whatever road your pushing your old railway station wheelbarrow down at the time ( it's the old steel wheel type) .

  8. #8
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    The road to independence seems to be the worst one at the moment, leading to wreck and ruin according to the naysayers

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaggy View Post
    The road to independence seems to be the worst one at the moment, leading to wreck and ruin according to the naysayers
    Its Westminster that already bought us all a ticket on the TITANIC to a promised TRUMPLAND , just follow the Tory brick road. The Tories are paddling the lifeboats full of LOOT in the opposite direction . Surely we cant be fooled again into voting NO. There's a saying "Once bitten twice stupid" the Tories always knew the Scots are stupid.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Green_not_greed View Post
    Large numbers of heavy trucks transporting wind turbine parts are one of the root causes.
    Wow, talk about obsessive...! Have you any idea just how polluted your views are?

    If you're genuinely wanting to apportion blame then how about you point the finger at offenders like log lorries or Gunn's lorries which are persistently on the Caithness roads? Of course, that doesn't suit your anti-Green agenda...

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by luskentyre View Post
    Wow, talk about obsessive...! Have you any idea just how polluted your views are?

    If you're genuinely wanting to apportion blame then how about you point the finger at offenders like log lorries or Gunn's lorries which are persistently on the Caithness roads? Of course, that doesn't suit your anti-Green agenda...
    Interesting....if there is ever a complaint about lorries in Caithness, the general comment is Gunn's lorries. Arn't there Stevens and many more. At least Gunn's are doing work in the County which is necessary......and I bet they pay huge Road/Excise Tax, which is collected by the Government, but never goes back into Road care/repairs....over the past year Gunn's lorries have been condemned many times for the destruction of the roads. The roads were never prepared/intended for such weights. Most Countries dig down and put in enough fill, especially like the Causewaymire, which is in fact what it is...a mire of soft peat. I have seen how the roads are prepared in Caithness and the North........a few inches of hard core and then another thin layer of tar.......and this is what is provided by the Local Councils. They decree what the specs are for the surface.....
    Just a thought.....

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rheghead View Post
    Yes those wind turbine parts are constantly on the move.
    They wont make much leccy if not
    W.A.T.P.

  13. #13
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    Our council has no backbone,
    They just sit on there arse's and let Inverness take ALL the funding

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaza View Post
    Our council has no backbone,
    They just sit on there arse's and let Inverness take ALL the funding
    Got any suggestions using real data that could be a viable alternative for the council?
    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
    Courage to change the things I can,
    And wisdom to know the difference.

  15. #15
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    Pretty much dodge city on the Reay to Thurso road (dodging pot holes) and there are some corkers in Thurso too..... turn left out of the co-op and that thing is more like a crater! I don't know who's ultimately responsible for the absolute collapse of our infrastructure but wish that mouthpiece Sturgeon would stop rambling on about referendums and start doing what she's supposed to, governing Scotland. Less Holyrood centralisation and nationalism from the SNP and more time spent on doing what they were elected to do..... govern Scotland. Holyrood is maybe Gaelic for "Holey Road" (ie: pot holes) and this is Sturgeon's secret plan to make Scotland greener? Don't maintain the roads and hope the nation takes to walking?

    I don't know but it was pretty funny when I overheard a very small man (in the petrol station) telling the lady behind the counter that the ride into town in his 4 x 4 jeep was getting bumpier every day! If it's bumpy in a 4 x 4 just think what it's like on a motorbike or a standard car! BUS drivers are even moaning about the state of the roads, it's absolutely disgraceful..... it really is. I don't like delving into politics but can clearly see (with my own eyes) that things have really degenerated since the SNP got into power. They talk a good game BUT don't seem to be doing anything?

    Miss Sturgeon will probably blame "Westminster" for the shortage of TAR and promise Scotland an ocean of TAR if they vote for independence...... she is clearly (in my opinion) mismanaging everything in order to say to the Scottish people "It's Westminster's fault". A disgusting and sly way to attempt to persuade the people of Scotland that independence is in their best interests. A few hundred foreign bikers who don't know the roads could potentially end up losing their lives if they hit one of the many pot holes..... does the SNP care? Seemingly not. All that matters is independence, at any cost.

    I see no other reason for it do you? Plenty of money to TOTALLY waste on the new Wick School / that is already falling apart..... Plenty of money to hand out FREE prescriptions to everybody and their dog (thanks Westminster!) but no money for a bucket of tar and a shovel.

    I could go on all night but am not going to waste time, it's pointless..... at the end of the day we need less mouthpieces with "mission statements", "delusions of grandeur" and "self importance".... we need good old fashioned TAR and we want to see it NOW!!!!

    Viable alternative Rheghead? Easy mate....... the Vehicle excise duty should be renamed the road tar tax and all proceeds go toward maintaning the roads.... we would have the best tarred roads in the world. Just what "exactly" does your £200 road tax (per year) do for the roads? Answer = NOTHING.

    If taxed to the eyeballs Britain isn't bad enough, as it already, with MP's (Nicola too) using our money to pay for their "expenses" why not abolish road tax (or whatever they call it now) and put 5 pence on a litre of fuel? Lots of cars and 5 pence per litre = a LOT of revenue A hell of a lot more revenue than "road tax"......

    Thing is..... the "TAX" should not be an earner for the government.... the proceeds should 100% be allocated to preserving and renewing the roads infrastructure..... that would work..... why don't they do that?

    Why is the local council responsible for maintaining the roads and allocated / have to decide a budget out of the council tax payed to them for roads? CRAZY!!!!! Who are BEAR Scotland? (Even more ridiculous!!)

    I drive a car, you drive a car, MOST of us drive a car........ We pay (Average) £200 in road tax (or whatever they call it now) EACH! We pay WAY over the odds (compared with the rest of the world) for petrol (which is HIGHLY taxed), we pay income TAX and we pay 20% VALUE ADDED TAX on mostly everything!!

    That's a LOT of tax folks

    Pot holes in the road are not something associated with a progressive / world leading economy..... it's actually indicative of a country that is collapsing (quite literally).......... I think Nicola needs to start thinking "tar" and introduce a 2 pence tar tax in the petrol / deisel which will pay for the upkeep and expansion of Scotland's roads..... maybe a TARtan tax?

    I can't believe I just wasted 15 minutes of my life replying to a fishy product thread (Sturgeon) oh well...... off to plant some windmills = Earners!!

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by luskentyre View Post
    Wow, talk about obsessive...! Have you any idea just how polluted your views are?

    If you're genuinely wanting to apportion blame then how about you point the finger at offenders like log lorries or Gunn's lorries which are persistently on the Caithness roads? Of course, that doesn't suit your anti-Green agenda...

    Pot kettle black-talk about a slanted view - jees !!!

    The point I was making is that Highland Council have taken a bunch of money from Caithness and Sutherland wind farm developers and that it doesn't seem to be coming back to repair our roads. It was a go at the council not the developers.

    Incidentally the majority of log lorries are transporting logs from huge swathes of what was once forest, now destined for wind turbines to be built. And many of the Gunns lorries transport the base material for turbine foundations.

    This is still a go at the Council. Why aren't they repairing the damaged roads with what they have already been paid ????????????????
    Green but not brainwashed

    Using the sun to provide hot water.
    Driving a car that gets 73 miles per gallon.....

  17. #17

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    Just a comparison....
    Canada road Tax £50 per year.
    Petrol less than 50p per litre.
    We have 3.8 million sq miles/ population 35M.

    Scotland road tax £200 per year.
    Petrol £1+ per litre.
    Area 30,000 sq miles/population 5M
    As the temperature goes to 30+below zero, one needs at least 4+Feet of hardcore and we have approx 3 " of asphalt/tar on top. In the North many roads ar not tarred but have to fill in them in which at least 4 feet of stones.......if not the vehicle will just sink.

    Pack of Cigarettes in U.K. Approx £9.
    Pack of ". Canada £5.

    So it would appear that the UK is paying double what we pay.....but then on another post, I was told that your Health care is better? And of course the U.K. Has 550,000 mobility vehicle and we have no Council housing per se. Some of our City homes are geared to income.
    So you cannot have it both ways. I am not being smart, just when you look at it, your system, there are differences....but I didn't realize that your road tax was so much. Petrol has always been double the price which is usually all due to Tax.

  18. #18
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    Road tax does NOT go toward repairing / maintaining roads..... it is a "Vehicle excise Duty" and not one penny of the average £200 Vehicle Excise Duty is spent on anything road related....... it's one of those taxes that just "disappears" into the ether.

    The HUGE tax on petrol..... none of that tax goes towards the roads either!

    It's more vague than an electricity bill and akin to highway robbery..... you don't know who robbed you and you don't know what he / she is spending your money on! One thing is for certain...... they aren't using the money to repair the highways

    The most bizzare thing..... a couple of years ago a massive pot hole actually buckled my offside front wheel. I was livid and got in touch with the council (spoke to a guy up top) and they ended up offering me £560 for a new set of alloy wheels (a matching set!) I accepted the offer. 2 months later and the pot hole still hadn't been filled up! How the hell does THAT make financial sense???

    I don't understand what's going on these days...... too many chiefs and not enough Indians.... way too many "mission statements" and "centres of excellence" and not enough people on the ground doing an ACTUAL job of looking after the UK's infrastructure.

    Makes my blood boil.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by DSTOTM View Post
    Road tax does NOT go toward repairing / maintaining roads..... it is a "Vehicle excise Duty" and not one penny of the average £200 Vehicle Excise Duty is spent on anything road related....... it's one of those taxes that just "disappears" into the ether.

    The HUGE tax on petrol..... none of that tax goes towards the roads either!

    It's more vague than an electricity bill and akin to highway robbery..... you don't know who robbed you and you don't know what he / she is spending your money on! One thing is for certain...... they aren't using the money to repair the highways

    The most bizzare thing..... a couple of years ago a massive pot hole actually buckled my offside front wheel. I was livid and got in touch with the council (spoke to a guy up top) and they ended up offering me £560 for a new set of alloy wheels (a matching set!) I accepted the offer. 2 months later and the pot hole still hadn't been filled up! How the hell does THAT make financial sense???

    I don't understand what's going on these days...... too many chiefs and not enough Indians.... way too many "mission statements" and "centres of excellence" and not enough people on the ground doing an ACTUAL job of looking after the UK's infrastructure.

    Makes my blood boil.
    Yes we have the same Mission Statements and Excellence News Releases....Some years ago I was the Spokesman for a Regional Municipality of nearly one million people.....when we received Grants from the Government we had to put out a News Release to that affect and then send copies to the Gov't or we would not get it again.
    I think it is time for an Olde fashioned 'March' to the Municipal HQ.....but I suppose that is Inverness or down around Brora! Long way to go on a wet day.
    Things will come to a head eventually like it did to The Countries in 2008, particularly the United States of America.
    Perhaps it is the lack of pride in our every day workings.....we are getting there also.....

  20. #20
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    Stepford Wives. WTF is happening here?!

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