The scandal of idle roadworks and the state of our roads

Any of us who have had regularly to cycle or drive through north London over the last eighteen months will surely have pulled out most of the hair they have left.

The general m.o. appears to be to close a whole lane on a key route through London, dig up that lane, install stop/go lights, then do virtually no work for the next three weeks. Half the time I pass these works at around half eight in the morning and there is no-one working on them. Why not? Why are they not obliged to work night and day - with floodlights - until the job is done?

Today, having once again had to wait at the stop/go lights on Green Lanes by the climbing centre, I finally cracked and called Thames Water to complain. A very nice operator made enquiries on my behalf and came back to say she would be making enquiries with the TW planning department and calling me back within a day. Before ringing off I asked if others had complained. She said there had been numerous other enquiries and complaints - incluing even the police.

A recent article in the Standard -

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23804056-london-on-d...

- suggests something - finally - is being done, but I cannot see how it nearly goes far enough.

Has anyone here got any ideas - I'm sure you have - on what pressure we can put on the utilities / local / national government over these issues?

I should add I am also aggrieved, as a cyclist, at the state of the road surface after all these works. All I can say is that I am glad I have a hybrid bike as I think a racer would fall apart now on the roads of Haringey, Hackney and Islington...