'It just gets worse and worse until someone has an accident': Public hits out at Sheffield's pothole problem
Potholes have been a persistent problem in the city, but now it seems almost inescapable for many drivers.
Figures suggest that as of the start of this year there were 2,864 potholes in need of repair, however since then the county has been hit by bouts of heavy snow and ice which will only exacerbate existing damage.
Sheffield City Council’s official policy is to inspect primary and secondary roads monthly, link roads quarterly and side roads annually.
Guidance suggests that any pothole deemed to be hazardous - which is typically greater than 40mm in depth - will be filled with asphalt within 24 hours of receiving a report.
If further work is required, a permanent repair will be made within 28 days.
Lower category defects that are not considered urgent are fixed as part of wider-scale resurfacing work, even if that pothole is close to where an urgent repair is taking place.
However the regularity of these works has faced criticism, as many now consider some roads unusable.
When asked, readers of The Star described the issue as widespread.
David Beech took it even further, commenting: “Which streets in Sheffield don't have pot holes?”
James White claimed the problem is caused by misplaced council priorities, and it means that people are no longer encouraged to get nice cars.
“The council spends money on things that don’t really matter,” he said.
“You do what you best can with the roads I suppose - I mean [when it comes to] having a nice car, there’s no incentive now, in fear of damaging anything or anything like that.
“I think they’ve got their priorities elsewhere, I think the potholes are way down on the list.
“It annoys me at times - the ones you think would be a priority just get worse and worse until someone has an accident.”
Cyclist Ricky Charlesworth explained that increased public transport options may help lower strain on city streets, and help lower the amount of potholes appearing.
He said: “I think the pothole problem in Sheffield points to a few wider issues.
“The roads are under a lot of stress at the moment - there is a lot of traffic.
“It doesn't seem to matter what time of day there are traffic queues on many of the main routes in Sheffield.
“I've lived in Sheffield for 20 years and I've seen a massive increase in the amount of traffic on the roads - car ownership keeps going up.
“As a cyclist I try to encourage others to cycle or use public transport, but Sheffield is unique in how hilly it is, and many people don't feel Sheffield roads are safe for cyclists.
“Public transport would need to be a lot cheaper to make people see it as a genuine alternative to using their cars. It is currently too expensive and not reliable enough.
“In my opinion, cheaper and more reliable public transport, and safer cycling routes would solve some of the causes of Sheffield's pot hole problems.”
Earlier this month, a Sheffield City Council spokesperson said the strategic approach to highways management was developed using the highways infrastructure code which recommends that all highways authorities use a risk-based approach to managing defects on the network.
Information about categories of defect and how to report potholes can be found on the city council’s website: How we repair potholes and how to report an issue.
The spokesperson also said Sheffield’s road network ranks in the top 10 in the country for condition based on surveys of road users undertaken by the National Highway and Transport survey.
Only one per cent of its ‘A’ road network and three per cent of its ‘B’ and ‘C’ road network is identified as requiring maintenance, they added. The data is freely available on the DfT website as all authorities are obligated to supply the DfT with this data.
There is an on-going, rolling programme of repairs, they added.
In December, Sheffield City Council announced the city would miss out on a share of £6.7m government cash for pothole repairs allocated to South Yorkshire because of the contract with Amey.
A spokesman for the city council explained the council's Streets Ahead highways maintenance contract was being delivered by Amey through a private finance initiative deal.
He added that, because Sheffield’s public roads are maintained under a PFI deal for maintenance activities, "the council therefore does not qualify for additional funding from central government."
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