Disabled Keiss woman fears for life crossing crumbling road
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A disabled woman on High Street in Keiss is worried that a fall in the array of potholes outside her home could prove fatal if they are not fixed soon.
Lynne and Robin Hook contacted the John O'Groat Journal due to the crumbling road surface beside their council house in the hope we could get some firm answers from the local authority about planned repairs.
"I saw your car bouncing when you came along the road there," said 63-year-old Robin when we visited.
"There's elderly people around here and it's not handy if the ambulance comes in and they're getting shaken about. The council did some temporary repairs at the top of the road with cold tar but in two months that will be back out and we'll be back to square one again.
"I spoke to a wifie and she says her springs are gone. What they need to do is plane it out and retar it."
Lynne said that her main issues come about when she tries to cross the road outside her home to access the village hall where she attends a knitting club.
"It's a right job trying to get my wheelchair over it. You can't go straight out and over it and I've got to manoeuvre past the lamppost to a bit that's level."
The couple said they had contacted Maree Todd – MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross – who sent details of the roads due to be worked on but they claimed that High Street was not on the list. Further down High Street towards the coastline the road is exceptionally deteriorated with multiple potholes on both sides of the street that are impossible to avoid.
Robin added: "This is the road that campervans come along and people go down there to the harbour. There are motorbikes going down there pretty fast and they could easily get thrown.
"It's all the old folk I'm worried about crossing that road. Their feet could catch in those potholes and they'll trip. They're all complaining about it. My wife's wheelchair has small wheels and it could be put on its side if it hits the potholes."
Sixty-eight-year-old Lynne said she was in a car accident 55 years ago and her hip was dislocated. She subsequently had hip and knee replacements and now suffers from arthritis and heart issues.
Robin took early retirement to look after his wife as her primary carer.
"If she does go down, it'll be hard for me to get her up. I'd have to get someone to help. Her wheelchair could go over and she'd rattle her head on the road."
They both agreed that a fall like that could prove fatal for Lynne with her multiple health issues.
Robin claimed he had spoken to a council roads worker about the matter and was told: "It's nothing to do with me – speak to the council!"
A Highland Council spokesperson said: "Our local roads team are still deployed in winter maintenance duties. To be effective, repairs need to be done once the weather improves as materials used are less effective during freeze/thaw cycles. Bitumen-based repair materials are susceptible to water ingress and cold temperatures. This combination may result in the defect returning within a short timescale."
Highland Council has information on potholes on its website at: www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/20457/pothole_factsheet
To report a pothole or other road maintenance defect the public should use the online form or phone the call centre. Online form: www.highland.gov.uk/info/20005/roads_and_pavements/96/road_faults Call centre: 01349 886601
The spokesperson continued: "The local team are aware of the potholes at this location and they will be into a programme for repairs for when weather conditions improve and resources are available. Priority will be given to deal with deep potholes and those on high speed and busy roads first then on to more routine shallower potholes with 20 or 30mph limits."
On Tuesday morning, Highland Council announced it was rolling out the trial run of a thermal process for repairing potholes at a small number of locations throughout the region. An external contractor, Thermal Road Repairs, has been appointed to undertake the work. The thermal process uses existing material on-site which is recycled and added to as necessary to provide a permanent fix to potholes.
The trial will start in Thurso on Monday, March 11 at West Church Street; East Church Street and Cowie Lane until Thursday, March 14.
More info on this can be found at: www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/15893/council_announces_thermal_pothole_repair_trial
The thermal process is said to be cheaper and better for the environment.
Speaking for pressure group Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR), Iain Gregory said: "These shocking pictures demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the situation in the county has now reached crisis point.
"CRR have said from the outset that the roads infrastructure in Caithness is far and away the worst anywhere in Highland, and we are now way beyond the stage where the Scottish Government can deny any responsibility and simply say that 'This is a matter for the Highland Council', which has been their standard, and wholly unsatisfactory, response for the past three years."
He continued: "I would point out that people with reduced levels of mobility, those who have impaired vision, and those who use wheelchairs, have a perfect right to be able to move about safely, and to go about their daily business, and these pictures show – starkly – that this is simply not the case in Caithness. Would this be accepted in Inverness? In Glasgow? In Edinburgh? It certainly would not, so why is it apparently considered acceptable here? CRR calls upon politicians of all parties to act, and to act now, before the inevitable tragedy occurs."
