Thames Water Crystal Palace Park Road

[stuart]

Some of you may have noticed that Crystal Palace Park Road is closed (again) outside the telephone exchange. You can't not have noticed the disruption of numerous bus services and the jams at the Kirkdale roundabout as a consequence.

Not a problem for me (on a bicycle) so I have passed the 'workings' several times in the last few days. I did enquire when they thought it may re-open. "Dunno, a week or so" said the guy who appeared to be in charge.

However, it does appear to be a hive of inactivity. Everytime I pass the people there are doing - nothing.

Except yesterday (Sunday) when in the afternoon there were lots and lots of Thames Water people. No excavation or any other apparent physical activity - but the sound of a football match emanating from one of the vans. So that's what we are doing. Paying people to watch football (on double time?) instead of fixing a major link in our transport system.

It wasn't the sun that made my blood boil yesterday. Or am I over-reacting?

Stuart

[Nigel]

Have to concur, I walked past and there seemed to be a lot of suits but very little work - surely this should be treated as top level urgent given the mayhem it’s causing .
One upside - because I could get out of Lawrie Park on Friday to go to the Tasty Fish Bar in Newlands Park , I went to Kirkdale and stumbled upon the fish bar there - not better not worse but glad I tried it - everything cooked to order and very pleasant .

Apologies to all if I am sounding annoyingly Pollyanna-Ish in the midst of suffering and chaos .
A very good morning
Nigel

[blakewho]

I can assure you they were very busy between 1 and 5 AM today, full-on drilling and flashing lights from the vans. No football on at such ungodly hours of course.

[mosy]

It was reported this week that some 20% of clean water, i.e. that which has already been through whatever purification systems make it drinkable. Unaccountable monopoly companies have no incentive to fix leaks when the consumer pays one way or another, i.e. via bills or disruption. You'd think they'd have it down to a fine art by now of knowing what sort of problems typically arise and how to fix them quickly instead of what can be weeks or months of head- scratching. Hmm.

[Wing]

Traffic in the surrounding areas will be bad if not worse for a while. I understand Crystal Palace Park Road is closed until the 12th. There is now a burst pipe on Westwood Hill (opposite Charleville Circus) and there is going to be part closure of the road for repairs.

[Parker1970]

I thought it was closed because of a Sinkhole. There were temp traffic lights at the junction with Lawrie Park Road then the sinkhole happened at the junction with Thicket Road and Crystal Palace Park road at that point was closed. Traffic has been going all the way up from Cobbs Corner to Crystal Palace and the length of Lawrie Park road for days since. Sydenham became a car park.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/16323 ... c-madness/

[stuart]

Signs say expected completion by the 12th. Supervisor said they really didn't know as they had hit unexpected problems.

So treat that date as a punt rather than a promise.

Stuart

[owlwise]

Didn't it take about 3 years to sort out the sinkhole in Blackheath?

[Zsazsa]

Sink hole or another collapsed water main caused by complete lack of maintenance?

[stuart]

I seem to recall this hole has been dug several times before. If so, it may be the maintenance that is the problem.

Stuart

[corvid]

I cycled past the works today. Not looking great, to be fair.

There are at least 7 or 8 large holes dug in the road all the way from the turnoff at Thicket Road up as far Lawrie Park Avenue. As I passed, there were four men visible working on it - 3 of them discussing what to do, and the 4th sitting the van with his boots off checking his phone.

I wouldn't have the highest hopes of this being sorted any time soon... but here's hoping I'll be proved wrong.

Good lord - Chris de Burgh has just come on the TV. I think I need to run off and have a little moment of being physically sick... sorry...

[Parker1970]

It all re-opened this afternoon which I am sure you all guessed from the lack of traffic jams on our roads

[alywin]

I guessed from the sudden lack of any additional buses. Not that I didn't appreciate all the extra ones down here, but I felt really sorry for all those people deprived of buses for 2 weeks. Some of them rely on them to be able to get to the shops and all sorts of other vital places.