Turns out all the wet weather has been wreaking havoc on our roads. Photo: File.
While COVID stalks the city, our everyday concerns remain real and this week, our polls are all about the roads, from speeding fines to cavernous potholes.
Readers were generally irritated by the decision to change speed limits in Civic to 40km/h along Northbourne Avenue, rejecting the idea that this was a safety measure that would protect pedestrians.
Thousands have been pinged by the speed cameras in recent months, but plenty of people also thought there had been ample warning and that drivers must have known they were doing the wrong thing.
We asked: Are the speed limit changes and fines on Northbourne a good idea?
A total of 826 people voted. Your choices were to vote Yes, they protect pedestrians and were well signposted. This received 33 per cent of the total, or 273 votes.
Alternatively, you could vote No, they won’t change safety and are all about revenue raising. This received 67 per cent of the total, or 553 votes.
This week we’re wondering about whether the ACT Government should pay for pothole damage to your car.
There have been potholes aplenty after this very wet winter (including a monster just outside the Region Media office).
Car fan Taylah Kolaric says she sustained significant damage to her new white Falcon after driving through cold mix washed out of a stretch of potholes on Belconnen Way in Hawker.
Taylah was less than thrilled with the outcome dealing with the ACT Government, although some Canberrans have successfully claimed damages from the ACT Government after being able to substantiate damage.
The ACT Government does not automatically accept liability for these sorts of incidents, but a government spokesperson confirmed that there had been 61 claims from drivers for damage to their vehicles from potholes in the last two financial years, and it had paid out $37,320.
So should the taxpayer be funding damage claims? Not everyone thought so.
Peter Bucke wrote: “Can we also claim compensation for punctures from nails and screws littered around streets from knock-down rebuilds?”
Others pointed to the proliferation of low profile tyres, described by some as little other than “rubber bands”, and the risks they pose.
But Damien Hawkes, who had a similar experience, wrote: “Generally speaking, the government is liable for damages from the time they are notified and have knowledge of the issue up until they fix it/place signage/take action to mitigate the risk to road users. If the repair started to fail and they weren’t aware at the time of the incident it’s going to be hard to win that claim.”
Another user thought Fix My Street could work better.
“Really, it needs accept or reject the outcome buttons. I put in a report that my stock-standard car bottoms out and scrapes on my partner’s driveway apron and the footpath where the concrete has lifted. They came out and did a great job grinding the apron but the footpath was untouched.
“My car still bottoms out when crossing the footpath and it remains a trip hazard. A simple button to say ‘no, not fixed yet’ would be far better than having to completely submit again and would have also been helpful to Ms Kolaric.”
Our question this week is:
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