Tuesday 19 February 2008

Walking on ice

A sequel to yesterday's post about cycling and ice on the carriageway. The situation is no better for pedestrians. Yesterday I encountered a large sheet of ice on one of the busiest pavements in the Borough, namely Walthamstow High Street close to the junction with Hoe Street. I've noticed that for months water has been leaking out of a metal hatch, forming a permanent puddle in the pavement. If the Council isn't taking action about a location like this, walked over by thousands of pedestrians every day, it seems reasonable to conclude that it is indifferent to such leakages. And with the cold snap of the past two days this water turned into a sheet of ice about eight metres long by one metre wide. The second photograph below shows the source of the leakage, the rest show the ice (unfortunately black ice doesn't show up as well as white ice).

Any pedestrian who slips, falls and fractures or breaks bones here should get legal advice, as I don't think it would be hard to establish gross negligence on the part of the highway authority.