On 11 Jul 2012 at 5:21pm Southover Queen wrote:
I've just had to drive across town. It took me over 20 minutes to get from Southover to the precinct - Southover Road was queuing back to Grange Gardens and Station St is barely moving, with just a couple of cars crossing into Fisher St. The reason becomes clear at the Needlemakers: BT have dug their vast hole again. It does beg the question why they couldn't do it all the last time they put Lewes into gridlock...
On 11 Jul 2012 at 5:43pm driver wrote:
It's not BT, it's gas this time.
On 11 Jul 2012 at 6:14pm Southover Queen wrote:
Jeez, really? That's even worse! So BT have covered up their gigantic hole and then the gas people dig it up again. Why is it so hard to co-ordinate hole digging so that all the utilities do what they need to do at the same time so it only jams up the town once? Next whoever it is who manages the electricity network will pop up in six weeks time and dig it up all over again.
On 11 Jul 2012 at 6:26pm Harry wrote:
I think it was gas last time as well, it just happens to be outside the telephone exchange, so easy mistake to make.
I'm just as annoyed as you guys though. I got stuck yesterday and when I finally got past, guess how many men were working there? Yup! ZERO!
On 11 Jul 2012 at 10:42pm Harold wrote:
Yes it was, and is the the Gas....
On 12 Jul 2012 at 10:40am Mr Cribbins wrote:
There I was, diggin' a hole......
On 12 Jul 2012 at 11:34am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I sometimes wonder if when one lot dig it up, they damage other services in the process, then that lot have to come and dig it up again, and so on.
When road works are planned, the council used to write to all the utilities and ask if they need to do any work at the same time. Apparently, they never reply. The council does have the power to deny them permission to dig holes, but they rarely use it as all the utilities have the power to dig without permission in emergencies. Not being able to get their act together clearly constitutes an emergency.
The gas distributors seem to have done a tremendous amopunt in Lewes in recent years. I find it hard to believe that the whole town hasn't got brand new gas mains.
On 12 Jul 2012 at 2:02pm Don't moan wrote:
Perhaps when they dug it up before they couldn't complete the repair/replacement, perhaps waiting for specialist parts. So, instead of leaving a great big hole there and chaos for weeks, they filled it in so as not to inconvenience you during that time.
Wouldn't it have been quicker to have walked anyway?
On 12 Jul 2012 at 2:27pm Southover Queen wrote:
Actually, "don't moan", I doubt it because it happens all the time. There is no financial incentive not to mess up the traffic, so they don't care. I'm willing to bet that whatever the reason for the hole existing in the first place, it would be filled in (and not opened up again six weeks later) far more quickly if they were paying some kind of penalty for doing so.
I can't carry two large shopping bags back to Southover, otherwise yes it would be quicker. But it would be even better if a huge great hole weren't stopping most of the traffic from moving in the first place - then it's my choice whether I walk or not.
On 12 Jul 2012 at 3:28pm Hole spotter wrote:
As if by magic, the hole is now filled in