First topic message reminder :

[size=75:2yrg30i8]Sofia echo 03 March 2010

Varna - and Bulgaria - have had their fill of potholes

Bulgarian streets are infamous for their dilapidated state – they not only damage vehicles, but they also cause accidents as people try to dodge them, on occasion swerving into the oncoming lane, causing collisions, serious injury and even deaths. The people of Varna, however, have had enough.

Varna is up in arms, with citizens demanding that they meet mayor Kiril Yordanov on March 3, Bulgarian National (BNT) Television reported.

The Varna Prosecution Office has launched a comprehensive investigation to check on the state of roads and streets, prompted by the dire straits of the road network in Varna and the widespread discontent that this has caused.

According to Vyara Alexieva, spokesperson for the Varna Prosecution Office, the investigation in Varna is a part of a widespread operation across Bulgaria ordered by the Supreme Administrative Prosecution Office and covering the last six months of 2008 and the whole year 2009.

Bulgarian-language mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa said on March 3 2010 that the results of the operation will be made available by May 10 2010. The potholes in Varna triggered a wave of public protests some weeks ago, prompting Yordanov to dismiss Rositsa Kirova from the her post at the municipality's investment policy department.

The situation in Sofia is similarly dire. Never mind small inner-borough streets that are virtually impassable, the pavements for pedestrians are in even worse condition.

Major boulevards in Sofia, like Tsar Boris III, in places resemble a war zone, with craters enough to cause serious damage to a vehicle, an accident and serious injury.

Sections of the Sofia Ring Road are also in extremely poor condition. Even elite boroughs, like Sofia's Lozenets, near the Fourth Police Station feature streets covered in holes. Residents of Sofia's borough of Lagera say that the municipality installed brand new traffic signs last year on all inner streets, but the streets themselves resemble a lunar surface.

"
We have new traffic signs now, but we don't have any streets,"
residents told The Sofia Echo.

The problems are not limited to Lozenets and Lagera. This is the reality in every corner of Sofia, every city, town and village of Bulgaria.

And while the municipality spent money in the summer of 2009 to fix the pavements on some central boulevards in Sofia city centre, such as Patriarch Evtimii, someone from the municipality did not bother to think about issuing an order banning vehicles from parking on the pavements.

The outcome – new pavements less than a year old have crumbled and are already covered in holes from the weight of the cars parked on top of them.

For as long as this is allowed to continue, authorities will keep on repairing infrastructure only for it to be destroyed a year later. The funds for the repair of roads and pavements can be easily collected. There are thousands of traffic and parking violations committed on our streets everyday, but somehow the authorities have failed to exploit this golden goose.

The streets can be fixed, and the money can be raised, only if someone is willing to put a little thought into it.

[size=150:du0uqcy0]Pothole Damage Blamed for Bulgaria Hellish Bus Crash
If this is the case then the Bulgarian Authorities should be charged with multiply manslaughter not the driver
It might serve as a wake up call to prevent further deaths, but I doubt it

Absolutely right Brian your words are very true after all said and done why should the driver be held responsible for the governments irresponsibility

sarah

If my village was full of potholes I'd be asking the parish council (or mayor if I was in BG) about organising volunteers to undertake the repairs, I'd be there with my barrow and shovel ready to do my bit. If all these people who complain about this and that said to each other "
What can WE DO about it?"
some solutions might be forthcoming.

fruitlover wrote:

If my village was full of potholes I'd be asking the parish council (or mayor if I was in BG) about organising volunteers to undertake the repairs, I'd be there with my barrow and shovel ready to do my bit. If all these people who complain about this and that said to each other "
What can WE DO about it?"
some solutions might be forthcoming.

Quote:- or mayor if I was in BG, I'd be there with my barrow and shovel ready to do my bit.
and what fruitlover would you put in your barrow, 10ton of tarmack would not begin to fill all the pot holes in our village, and who would pay for it, perhaps that is why the mayor still uses her donkey and cart and leaves her Mecedes parked in the garage. I have noticed that the road has increased in width where drivers have used house owners front verges to avoid the potholes/craters

Perhaps if everybody actually declared their income and paid their taxes, things could improve?

We had some roof damage after a storm last year. The Insurance came to inspect and asked us to get quotations for the repair. We ended up using a company about 75 miles away as nobody local were prepared to give us an invoice or a guarantee of their work.

One local company did say they would give me an invoice, but the price would go up as I would have to cover their tax contributions if they declared it!



My property is in a small lane (dead end) so myself and the neighbours filled them all in ourselves one Sunday morning before a communal barbecue lunch.

Chris wrote:

Perhaps if everybody actually declared their income and paid their taxes, things could improve?

We had some roof damage after a storm last year. The Insurance came to inspect and asked us to get quotations for the repair. We ended up using a company about 75 miles away as nobody local were prepared to give us an invoice or a guarantee of their work.

One local company did say they would give me an invoice, but the price would go up as I would have to cover their tax contributions if they declared it!



My property is in a small lane (dead end) so myself and the neighbours filled them all in ourselves one Sunday morning before a communal barbecue lunch.

Chris, had they given you an invoice, it's not worth the paper it's written on, and I don't think it would have mattered if they quoted 1000leva or 10,000leva they would not have declared it, and if the insurance was going to pay out would it have mattered any way
Perhaps if everybody actually declared their income and paid their taxes, things could improve?, I AGREE

Sorry boys you are both :OffTopic:this has nothing to do with pot holes [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . Paying taxes is also another issue.

Came back from Bourgas last night and to my amazement the pot holes in Zimnitsa have been filled actually went through the Village at more than 10 KMH. Now that is progress.

No having ago but I do think there is a connection between the potholes in Bulgaria and the taxes that people pay this can easily be seen buy the amount of people in a small village who will almost have loads of potholes and those who live in a very big village who will more than likely have less which I believe is down to the amount of taxes that are paid the the relevant municipality,. Only my thoughts

tonyb60 wrote:

Sorry boys you are both :OffTopic:this has nothing to do with pot holes [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . Paying taxes is also another issue.

Came back from Bourgas last night and to my amazement the pot holes in Zimnitsa have been filled actually went through the Village at more than 10 KMH. Now that is progress.

tony, it is not very often that I would dare to argue with a Moderator but on this occasion I feel it is justified
On my last visit to our villa I paid a visit to the Mayors Office to pay my council/community tax for the last year. She asked me for 20leva, I didn't dispute it
Now regarding this topic I have to ask how can a village and roads be maintained if 160 residence are only paying what I was asked to pay
so with all due respect I think the standard of Bulgarian roads will not improve until we and everybody pay their Tax. :Sorry:not
:Cheers8:

therowfamily wrote:

No having ago but I do think there is a connection between the potholes in Bulgaria and the taxes that people pay this can easily be seen buy the amount of people in a small village who will almost have loads of potholes and those who live in a very big village who will more than likely have less which I believe is down to the amount of taxes that are paid the the relevant municipality,. Only my thoughts

They are not only your thoughts, they are the thoughts of many I think you will find

willowsend wrote:

tonyb60 wrote:

Sorry boys you are both :OffTopic:this has nothing to do with pot holes [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . Paying taxes is also another issue.

Came back from Bourgas last night and to my amazement the pot holes in Zimnitsa have been filled actually went through the Village at more than 10 KMH. Now that is progress.

tony, it is not very often that I would dare to argue with a Moderator but on this occasion I feel it is justified
On my last visit to our villa I paid a visit to the Mayors Office to pay my council/community tax for the last year. She asked me for 20leva, I didn't dispute it
Now regarding this topic I have to ask how can a village and roads be maintained if 160 residence are only paying what I was asked to pay
so with all due respect I think the standard of Bulgarian roads will not improve until we and everybody pay their Tax. :Sorry:not
:Cheers8:

The discussion about Chris and his roof insurance is off topic. Paying road taxes etc is def on topic. But also remember it is not just the tax in your Village that goes towards road repair there is also Fuel Tax and EU subsidies. Maybe plus many more more that I know not of.

tony, it is not very often that I would dare to argue with a Moderator but on this occasion I feel it is justified

Your objection is dully noted but it is my fault for not explaining my comment properly

willowsend wrote:

and what fruitlover would you put in your barrow, 10ton of tarmack would not begin to fill all the pot holes in our village, and who would pay for it,

Well a load of rocks probably, or rubble if not a rocky area, for some of the potholes in my street, some smaller hardcore on top? If everybody did the same in their street it wouldn't take as much tarmac to just top them off. When I lived in Lincolnshire all the old boys used to have a tub of bitumen that they heated up over a brazier to tar their barn roof sheets with. Many things are possible if you look for ways to do them. Of course the finish may not be totally professional and you couldn't drive at high speeds over it, but I wouldn't want people to in my village anyway!