RP Update
NWLondoner
Posts: 2,047
Here is an email i got from the Royal Parks regarding the road re-surfacing of RP.
We have, as I expect you have noticed by now, been arranging for the affected roads to be swept weekly to reduce the amount of loose gravel which has been exacerbated by the wet and freezing weather.
The contractors who laid the surface have taken responsibility for the failure and will be relaying when the weather is warm enough - probably May.
Several people have mentioned tar, but it is unclear from inspection of the road what is causing this problem as the bitumen binder is solid at current temperatures and there is no sign of a build up of loose bitumen. It may be that regular sweeping is keeping it clear.
We do not think that the surface is fundamentally inappropriate, but correspondence with other cyclists has revealed that a larger gravel size might reduce punctures in the future, so we will explore this with our engineers before re-surfacing.
We have, as I expect you have noticed by now, been arranging for the affected roads to be swept weekly to reduce the amount of loose gravel which has been exacerbated by the wet and freezing weather.
The contractors who laid the surface have taken responsibility for the failure and will be relaying when the weather is warm enough - probably May.
Several people have mentioned tar, but it is unclear from inspection of the road what is causing this problem as the bitumen binder is solid at current temperatures and there is no sign of a build up of loose bitumen. It may be that regular sweeping is keeping it clear.
We do not think that the surface is fundamentally inappropriate, but correspondence with other cyclists has revealed that a larger gravel size might reduce punctures in the future, so we will explore this with our engineers before re-surfacing.
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Comments
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I saw numerous cyclists repairing punctures today, and I think I have only been saved by frequent preventative maintenance where I go over my tyres and insert fine tweezers into every cut to feel if there is anything in there. This takes a LOT of time, but I haven't had any punctures since doing it.
Re gravel size, my theory is that when cars drive over it, they grind the bits of gravel together and against the road, causing tiny fragments to break off. When I did get a puncture, the size of fragment that caused it was absolutely minute, much smaller than the general size of the pieces of gravel. So I don't think using bigger pieces of gravel would help, because they'll still get ground up by cars and create tiny fragments.
The only way I can see to avoid the problem is for it be a standard road surface and not have loose surface gravel at all.0 -
NWLondoner wrote:We do not think that the surface is fundamentally inappropriate, but correspondence with other cyclists has revealed that a larger gravel size might reduce punctures in the future, so we will explore this with our engineers before re-surfacing.
Or, horrors, tarmac?
*Larger* gravel will be awful, like riding on forestry commission fire roads. IMHO the problem with the small gravel wasn't its size but that it wasn't adequately stuck down, working its way into tyres easily. If it was stuck down properly it'd make a smoother surface than large gravel (though obviously far inferior to tarmac).0 -
Why is it they dont put actual tarmac down or stuff thats used on real roads?....is it the expense? or are they trying to keep the area more 'park-like'?0
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Why is it they dont put actual tarmac down or stuff thats used on real roads?....is it the expense? or are they trying to keep the area more 'park-like'?0
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Thanks for the update.
I think they should rebuild the road from pine - like a track .... 60 mins would be a done deal.
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Why is it they dont put actual tarmac down or stuff thats used on real roads?....is it the expense? or are they trying to keep the area more 'park-like'?0
