Tag: poor

October 21st – The ‘New’ New Street, theoretically and somewhat  risibly renamed ‘Grand Central’ wasn’t looking very new mid morning on this very wet autumn day. Leaks dripped through on to the concourse, the steps and platforms were slippery, and at the end of Platform 8 there was little sign of any of the multiple millions this misguided, lousy project has gobbled up with next to no improvement in passenger experience.

It’s about time Birmingham woke up and realised it’s new Emperor is stark bollock naked.

September 8th – I’ve been a bit disappointed with the new housing development on the site of former tower block Bayley House in Brownhills, between Lindon Drive and Catshill Junction.

Unlike much of local housing development by Walsall Housing Group, it’s very boxy, plain and red brick, and aesthetically mediocre, at best. Secondly, the overgrown canal bank, trees and hidden, overgrown sculpture – which could have been made a feature – have been ignored. Lower floor dwellings in that building must be horridly dark.

I’ve heard it said a local canal group are planning to tend the sculpture, but that isn’t the point: if you pump a few million into developments, a few finishing touches and nods to decent aesthetics cost next to nothing.

Unusually for WHG, this is very poor.

April 10th – Cycling the Netherton Tunnel is a genuine challenge. The towpath is now deteriorating badly; it’s full of wheel-snatching potholes filled with obfuscating water that conceals their depth and severity. Water continually drips on you, and occasionally pours. Although you can see daylight, it’s a long time away. And then, the relentless, unforgiving task of riding for twenty minutes or so in a 4-foot gap between a wall that curves closely over your head and a corroded, week handrail.

The relentlessness of it, the eyestrain and psychological effort of keeping alert enough to keep everything flowing is a real challenge.

But I love it every time I do it. I’d say it’s for the experienced cyclist only, and take a hat, jacket and good light. But it is fun.

March 18th -This week has odd weather. Misty, with a perceptible wind, but the air quality is very poor; it seems smoggy like it did about a year ago, but I could be imagining that. The sun seems to have a hard time penetrating the murkiness, but when it does, it’s springlike, and warm.

It makes for decent canal views, that’s for sure.

December 1st – I keep passing this, and often wait at the lights looking at it – and every time I do it irritates the hell out of me.

On the Pleck Road junction in Walsall, where it meets Ida Road and Rollingmill Street, there is a new build block of apartments. Blessed with an aesthetic only a mother could love, it’s not the physical ugliness that bothers me – but the finish of the woodwork, external plumbing and hardstandings.

If this is what the outside quality is like, one can only wonder about the inside…

September 19th – After a languid Indian summer, the sudden dull, overcast weather was a shock, but other stuff was bothering me. The air quality seems lousy at the moment, and it was irritating my sinuses making me unusually reliant on decongestant. Visibility wasn’t great either, but the air wasn’t really damp. This is an odd season, to be sure.

The autumn is in full swing, and the colours turning from dusty, tired greens to oranges and golds. Around Clayhanger Common and the new pond, the beautiful, deciduous copses and thickets are a wonder to behold, yet I think few every really study them or note the diversity of species they contain.

If only for a bit more sun to make these colours sing!

August 29th – The bike parking at New Street Station is still rubbish. Theoretically covered by CCTV, thefts are rife and stripped bike carcasses appear every day. If you need to park bikes in Brum, don’t park here. If you do, learn to lock your bike properly. What’s happening here is that thieves are stealing bikes who have one wheel locked by undoing it, then nicking a compatible wheel from another bike, and riding the composite off into the sunset.

New Street’s bike facilities are a disgrace.

Learn to lock your bike properly.

July 12th – Crossing Shire Oak with a saddlebag full of food, I was caught by the lights. The junction is quite, quite horrid, and desperately needs resurfacing. Later on that evening, there would be a serious road accident here, blocking the junction for several hours.

It really was about time something was done to improve this junction or all users.

March 9th – Later on, in Lichfield, I cycled around the periphery of the market as it was winding down. There is a sad and unexpected joy here, that really shouldn’t be occurring. The cobbles here – laid only in 2006 at a cost in excess of £1,200,000 – are badly executed and in an apparently poor grade of York Stone. They have, in patches sunk – despite the relatively light traffic; about 40% are loose and rattly, and many have broken up due to frost, water ingress and abuse. As a consequence, when you ride a bike over them, it is to an accompaniment of rattles, clicks and clatters that really are joyful. 

I doubt I’d find the enjoyment so great had my own borough council paid so much for such a dreadfully poor job.

January 19th – Fearing getting stuck and feeling a bit cold (not enough layers!), I took a train back from Rugeley Trent Valley Station to Walsall. The service was running well, and was fast, warm and comfortable. I wasn’t, however, overly enamoured with the station.

With four platforms and totally unmanned, the station could do with some attention.  The footbridge and platforms were lethal as they hadn’t been de-iced. Must say, it’s quite lonely up there at night, too. Sill, the passenger information was good, and I didn’t have to wait long.