Pauline von Hellermann4d ago

#ClimateDiary Through canvassing #Potholes are pretty prominent in my mind atm. For those of you not in the UK: potholes have become a focal point in UK local, even national politics. A bit of a cliche etc but they are, indeed, terrible - and getting much worse due to climate change (will add some of my own pictures below). Would be interesting to know how bad they are in other countries?

1/2
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/17/pothole-repair-england-wales-road-aia?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

konosocio4d ago
Show threadPauline von Hellermann
#ClimateDiary #Potholes 2/2
These are just some of the examples of potholes in neighbouring streets (one a campaign photo). We used to laugh a bit at people complaining about potholes but they are now everywhere, really big, and cause a lot of damage. I encounter them mainly as a cyclist: really dangerous for us, too! Anyway, i am kind of interested as a very “English” manifestation of conjunction of climate change, infrastructure failures, and behaviour (heavier vehicles). #TheCrumble
Mar 17 at 7:36amWeb
Show threadCecilia | MeraOrd4d ago
@pvonhellermannn plant a flower in them?
Show threadbencourtice4d ago
@pvonhellermannn I don't know about UK but in Australia, trucks don't pay tax/licensing/registration fees anything near proportional to the exponentially larger damage they do to roads. And a lot of road damage is due to them.
Show threadBilly Smith3d ago

@pvonhellermannn

It's also a sign that the councils are going with the cheapest bidder, when tendering for the roadworks.

Using cheaper materials makes the roads wear away quicker.

Show threadPauline von Hellermann3d ago
@BillySmith Yes! We had a big discussion around this locally yesterday. Exactly this
Show threadBilly Smith3d ago

@pvonhellermannn

I'm living in East London, and I could see this coming when I was cycling on the roads before and after the Olympics.

Some of the roads that looked great for the filming, needed to be completely repaired 3 months later. :|

Show threadPauline von Hellermann3d ago
@BillySmith Yes, same in Eastbourne. Temporary fixes, but then they just start reappearing again even a few weeks later