|
You take a look around Edinburgh and you realise it's a sh*thouse. The place is a mess. Our roads are third world, full of pot holes, mainly where roads have not been reinstated properly by contractors and the council fails to hold them to account.
The speed bumps, as was predicted, are crumbling. Huge cost to put them in and no money to keep them in a decent state of repair. They're a sight, and they damage our vehicles as we have to negotiate them.
The street furniture, which looks good when installed is similarly in a poor state of repair and an eyesore. Pillars that are palce to keep vehicles of pavements are knocked down, bent over and are left as another eyesore.
The centre of the town is swept nightly, often during peak periods when collection creates traffic chaos. The outskirts are left as a mess. Leith in particular.
Greenways, which were created with an expensive green chip coating, are now peeling off, leaving the cracked roads underneath exposed. Another eyesore, and no money available to repair them. Another expensive design folly, created to satisfy the politicians' photo opportunity then left to decay.
Weeds growing in cracked pavements, and public areas outside the city centre left wild, not a pretty sight.
Public toilets that close at ten, not that there's that many of them. And if you get one to stay open until ten, then you're lucky, as the attendants seem to believe its OK for them to just close the touilet when it suits them. they do have to get home after all.
Greenways that hog road space, even when no buses are using them. A "rush hour" that extends beyond anything that's reality, and some lanes which run the whole day, designed to slow traffic down completely rather than just at peak periods.
And that's not to mention education, social care and all the other aspects of this failing council.
But the council does restrict taxis. Got to hold on to that little piece of power. And don't try to engage with them, because all they'll do is fob you off and buy time. The whole administrative process is still a shambles, despite the "leadership" of Chief executive Sue Bruce. We have seen no difference in substance, just a reorganisation of committees and administration. It's not getting any better.
The bus lane cameras are an abomination. They were always only ever designed to raise cash. The only problem for the council is that they were so successful in the first instance that the council got embarrassed. had they had a gentler introduction they would just have pocketed the cash and stuck two fingers up to us once more.
This is not a council serving the people, it is a council exercising fascist control over us. And its not coming from the politicians, who are largely just window dressing to persuade us that we live in a democracy. It is emanating from a bureaucracy that is self fulfilling and out of control.
At least when the checkpoints go up for Hogmanay the city gets to look like the fascist cold war dictatorship city it has become. I simply ask, why bother taking the checkpoints down? Why not go the full hog and just fill them with Kalashnikov bearing stormtroops. At least reality would then be properly reflected.
_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"
|
Login
Register
FAQ
