Tarmac used as a quick-fix repair to York’s streets has left the city centre “blighted and scarred”.
That’s the view of one YorkMix reader who toured the heart of York to take these pictures of numerous asphalt patches.
The piecemeal work has seen the cheap and not-so-cheerful technique used on numerous pavements and roads.
Instead of the square setts or rectangular paving slabs being replaced after a repair, they are filled with unsightly grey lumps of Tarmac.
Our reader, who didn’t want to be named, found more than 20 examples on a brief walk round just one part of the city centre.
They said: “It makes my heart sink to see it. There have been campaigns to clean up chewing gum from the pavements but this is a hundred times worse, and it’s self-inflicted.
“On some streets, like Goodramgate, there’s more patch than pavement. It’s really blighted the beauty of our historic city centre, and left our streets scarred and unpleasant to look at.
“As a resident it makes me ashamed. Goodness knows what visitors think of it. The Romans made nicer streets than these nearly 2,000 years ago.”
They wondered if it was a cost-cutting measure.
“i assume it’s a money-saving exercise, as Tarmac is cheaper than putting stones back down.
“But the stones will need to be put back down anyway at some point so it’s going to cost more money?”
We asked City of York Council for their response.
Director of environmental & regulatory services Dave Atkinson said: “City of York Council highways teams carry out both routine and reactive inspections to identify footpath, cycleway and road defects that require repair.
“These inspections are carried out in accordance with our adopted policies.
“Repair timescales are set to ensure the safety of all users; heavy footfall in the city centre mean that the repairs need to be carried out quickly and in some instances, alternate materials may have to be used.
“The impact of this winter means that we have huge demands on our service. The number of works orders for repairs has more than doubled and our teams have worked tirelessly to address this.
“Utility companies are permitted under national guidance to leave temporary surfacing in place for up to six months before carrying out permanent reinstatement. Interim reinstatements are inspected and utility companies are held accountable for any that exceed the six‑month period.
“A Reimagining York Streets plan is being developed as part of York’s Local Transport Strategy. This plan will identify large scale renewal and regeneration works that will improve and replace many of the ageing highwaysassets across the city centre.”
A pedestrian has died in a collision in York.
As we reported, emergency services were called to the incident on the eastbound carriageway of the A64 at about 9.40pm last night (Saturday).
The collision involved a pedestrian and vehicles between Grimston Bar and the Hopgrove Roundabout.
Police today revealed that the pedestrian, a man, suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We are urging any witnesses, or anyone with relevant dashcam footage, to come forward.
“Officers would particularly like to hear from anyone who may have seen a man on foot near Grimston Bar or the A64 last night.”
If you can help police, you can contact them on the numbers below.
