A complete disaster in the offing. Heads ought to roll. Streets in much of Ealing and Little Ealing had not been cleared of the usual summer leaf fall and has rotted to an oily slime which permeates the footpaths (especially tarmac surfaces) which has made several locations as slippery as diesel on water or black ice.Local street cleaners have been overworked and cannot cope yet get bullied by bosses but not assisted. Where are the overseers from LBE on this?It has made walking, along with the dreadful amount of uneven and broken paving, almost a liability to older people and hugely dangerous for us who ride bicycles year round. Coupled with the dimmed down street lighting in Little Ealing it is quite hazardous to anyone out in the wet and dark coming home at night.The cycleways in the locality both Ealing and Hounslow Boroughs are barely maintained and suffer the same problem so rather ironically it's a whole love safer to stick to the roads where traffic volume has at least made it grippier in all this wet weather. And wet weather is normal for much of the year in this climate so it is not an acceptable excuse. Biggest problem will be the additional sludge from the later autumn fall will gunge up the sewers and drains. The cost and restrictions involved in descaling will be huge and mandatory once insurance won't pay out due to neglect of basic maintenance.It will potentially damage drainage and sewerage for those properties with basements and low sewer depthsIf you skid or fall and get injured by a loose paver or by unremoved leaf slime, you have a legitimate claim against the local authority or Property management company. Make a note and if possible, get a witnesses details and if you need treatment or have and injury as a result make sure it is, at the very least, documented by your GP or A&E.Local Authorities have a prime duty of care for safe public footpaths.Report every deficient paver or detrius ridden footway on 'fix my street' or the Local Authority website or contact ward councillors ( who in some boroughs are very good at getting these actioned- less so in Ealing sadly.)Check on any elderly or infirm neighbours who may be quietly suffering in silence from the restrictions on mobility. Some streets are really bad locally. It is in Little Ealing where my Ealing office is, and patchy in Brentford. L.B. Hounslow at least, seem to act within hours of complaints.It seems rather perverse that same authorities are supporting and funding initiatives to force people to walk or ride but cannot even manage to make footpaths and cycleways safe to do so.But above all, if you live on a street like this, do your bit as well, Sweep or scrape the sludge to a safe point outside your home and if possible, the homes of any who are elderly or frail. I have done it for many this autumn, it's just annoying that 8 weeks later & most has still not been cleared away even though half the job has been done.
Raymond Havelock ● 2290d