26 February (Part 2) - Little white lies
Is
white line painting so expensive in Bexley that it makes a major contribution to the Strategy 2014 cuts?
How much does a line cost? Councillor Peter Craske concocted a figure to support his plan to
triple the cost of Residents’ Parking Permits. He wrote that it cost
£36,000 every year
to replace worn lines around bays within CPZs. Not parking bays generally, just the CPZs.
Craske was probably being untruthful again;
he usually is.
A very rough calculation based on the number of CPZ bays, permits issued
and a paint life of ten years suggested that at the Craske rate, lines cost around £6 a foot.
On the other hand Bexley council admitted under FOI it had not kept any records. So no one can be sure.
What is indisputable is that lines are often neglected to the point they become invisible. The road close to my home where
I covered all the visible white lining
around a bay with a lens cap is much the same two years later.
The failure to mark the kerb adequately
outside KFC in Broadway in 2009 cost Bexley council a fortune in administrative costs but they didn’t rush to
repaint the markings. Line renewal is the last resort and not to be overdone. In
Welling a major contribution has been made towards Strategy 2014 by only
partially renewing the lines. Every little helps.
Note: Photo two taken in May 2012, photo three at the same
site yesterday. Blog content courtesy of reader’s observations in Welling.