11-year-old Martha started pothole petition after falling from her bike in Thurso
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A young entrepreneur was out and about in Wick last Friday collecting signatures for a petition to have Caithness' badly potholed roads fixed.
Martha Potts is homeschooled and says she hopes to attend Thurso High School later this year. She has already targeted her home town of Thurso to collect signatures and says that her new hobby of cycling led her to start the petition.
"I'm asking people to sign my petition which I'm going to send to the Highland Council to get them to fill in the potholes – I keep falling off my bike because of them," said Martha as she targeted shoppers outside Wick's B&M store.
"I got scratched a bit when I fell, it was mainly on the side streets near the promenade. There's a one-way street near the police station that's bad."
Martha said she started the petition on February 19 and has already collected 500 signatures but hopes to get 1000 in total. She noted how around 20 percent of people signing the petition said they had experienced an accident due to badly potholed roads.
"A petition is the most effective way for someone my age to put something to the Highland Council," she added.
Martha is heading away on a holiday to Vietnam soon and wants to garner as many signatures as possible before she goes. She is also starting a course with the National Girls Choir in April and is an accomplished artist, recently exhibiting work at the Society of Caithness Artists show in Thurso.
Doreen Turner, a committee member of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council, signed the petition and said: "I think she's very brave and I hope she gets a lot of support because it's needed.
"It's good to know the youngsters are noticing the potholes as well as us oldies." As a community councillor in the town Doreen has heard plenty of local clamouring about the issue and described the pothole problem as "very bad".
She added: "I feel sorry for the people going into them and getting punctures as its costly. It's unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians too."
Martha has an online petition on Change.org that you can sign at: www.change.org/p/demand-the-highland-council-to-repair-dangerous-potholes
In the petition she writes: "I am a resident of Thurso, UK, and recently took up cycling. Unfortunately, my new hobby has been marred by the dangerous potholes littering our roads. These aren't just minor inconveniences – they're hazards that have caused me to fall off my bike multiple times.
"But it's not just cyclists who are affected. My 75-year-old Nan fell out of her wheelchair due to one such pothole and was fortunate not to have broken any bones. This is a clear indication that these potholes pose a serious risk to the safety and wellbeing of our community members.
"I am not alone in this concern; numerous residents have voiced their complaints about the increasing size of these potholes and the lack of action taken by our council.
"We cannot allow this situation in Caithness to continue unchecked and to deteriorate further.
"We urge the Highland Council not only for immediate action on existing potholes but also for an effective long-term strategy for road maintenance that will prevent such issues from recurring.
"Please sign this petition if you believe, like us, that everyone deserves safe roads free from hazardous potholes. Together we can make our voices heard!"
