Residents slam council's ''waste of money''

Jun 18 2009 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

Is this a bump-er way to waste money?

WORK to replace speed bumps on a Hamilton street was this week branded a waste of council taxpayers’ money.

South Lanarkshire roads workers dug up two speed bumps in Ewart Crescent last week which a nearby resident described as being in “perfect condition”.

Stephen McLachlan said he was amazed the authority considered the work necessary, especially since there were other roads nearby in need of urgent attention.

“These speed bumps had only been there for two to three years. They were made of monobloc and there was nothing wrong with them as far as I could see,” said the 52-year-old.

“They’ve now taken out the monobloc, which must have cost a fortune to put down, and put tar and chips in its place.

“Eight or nine workmen must have been working on the speed bumps over three days. They used JCBs and a big tarring machine.

“This is very expensive work to carry out. To my mind, it has been a total waste of money.

“It’s especially annoying when there are streets nearby like Woodfoot Road, where repairs are badly needed.”

However, a spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said this week that the work had been necessary to repair worn monobloc.

He commented: “The traffic calming equipment at this location is known as a ‘speed table’.

“It regularly requires ongoing maintenance to repair missing and damaged blocks.

“In conjunction with the developer, we decided that it would be more cost-effective to remove the blocks from the raised section and replace them with an asphalt material.

“This will prevent the requirement for regular and costly maintenance, which would require to be funded by the council.”