As part of the Taking Care of Our Neighbourhoods campaign, which sees a number of initiatives being implemented throughout the community, an outlay of £1.5million has been set aside by Barnet Council to repair potholes and damaged road surface across the borough.
This week, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius, Chairman of the Environment Committee, Councillor Dean Cohen met with representatives from Re (Regional Enterprise), Barnet Council’s Highways delivery partner, and members of the Conway AECOM team who provided a demonstration in Cowper Road, Southgate, of a new machine that helps fix potholes.
The Conway Rhinopatch machine uses infrared heaters to accurately repair potholes, providing the council with a cost effective way of repairing its roads. Through the Network Recovery Programme, Barnet Council is investing £50million in improving the borough’s roads and pavements until 2020.
The maintenance programme, which is being delivered by Re on behalf of the council, saves on costly short-term repairs and means roads and pavements can be used for safe, reliable travel in the long term.
In addition to the £50million investment, the council has also secured additional funding from TfL to make it easier for buses to access their stops – allowing buses to pull in adjacent to the kerb and bus shelters, reducing congestion and improving air quality.
Councillor Dean Cohen, Chairman of the Environment Committee, said: “We know high-quality roads and pavements are a priority for residents, which is why these funds have been set aside. As well as repairing the roads, we understand prevention is better than cure and as such, we will be taking tough action against those who damage our pavements by parking large HGVs and driving over them with skips; this action causes extensive and expensive damage.
“This is a sizeable investment programme which will cover all aspects of the highways network, from roads and pavements to bridges, road markings and crossings.”
As part of the council’s Taking Care of Neighbourhoods campaign, residents are being encouraged to report a pothole by visiting www.barnet.gov.uk/report-a-problem and attaching a photo of the road and pothole.
For more information about what the council is doing to improve roads and pavements, please visit: www.barnet.gov.uk/ourneighbourhoods