Asquith Avenue in Morley has been dubbed Leeds' worst road for potholes and residents have slammed the council over the road's shocking state.
We asked LeedsLive readers to tell us the worst road in Leeds for potholes and the result was a tie between Asquith Avenue in Morley and Roundhay Road, with both making up 20 per cent of the votes.
This comes after a senior Leeds councillor accused the city council of "steadfastly doing nothing" to repair potholes in Leeds, as he blames the council of being "incapable of dealing with issues", having previously likened one road to the surface of the moon.
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Councillor Andrew Carter said earlier this year that he was "disgusted" with the lack of action taken by the council to repair and improve Stanningley Bottom. Damage and potholes in the surface led Cllr Carter, who represents the Calverley and Farsley ward, to compare the road to the moon’s surface in June last year.
The council has however said that there is a "robust asset management process in place for maintaining our roads" with more than £5m budgeted to invest in emergency repairs and maintenance of the city's roads.
LeedsLive spoke to residents in the Asquith Avenue. They claim to have complained to Leeds City Council about the state of the road for years, with some labelling it "shocking" and "dangerous". Residents also mentioned how treacherous the road can be with wagons using it every day and people speeding.
Linda, who lives in Asquith Avenue, said: "It is the worst, it’s absolutely terrible and it’s such a busy road." Other residents who live in Asquith Avenue agreed. David said: "It’s bad further up [pointing up Asquith Avenue] I have to drive slowly, there is no need for speed bumps - just go steady."
What is the worst road for potholes in Leeds? Have your say in our survey.
Beverley added: "It’s definitely an issue. We had this bottom half of the road resurfaced a few years ago so it’s OK. But half way up it’s horrendous.
"I dread to think what it’s doing to the suspension on our cars. There's no doubt it's the worst road in Morley.
"It's horrendous. It’s such a main road too, it's this busy every day, plus it's a bus route. Wagons use it and it just can’t handle that traffic. It's absolutely horrendous. It needs speed bumps to be honest, especially with it having a school at bottom, but they [talking about Leeds City Council] won’t do it - it’s been petitioned about loads."
One resident of Asquith Avenue called Sarina has a mobility scooter and struggles with the accessibility of the road because of how uneven it is. She said: "I have a mobility scooter and it’s hard to cross because of how rickety the road is. II have reported it a couple of times to the council but they haven't done anything.
"It’s definitely one of the worst - it’s shocking. I have so many problems with my mobility scooter and with the road being very rickety it's difficult going across it. It makes accessibility hard for me."
Another resident called Jacob said: "It’s far too busy and if you don't have a drive and have to park on the road people get there wing mirrors taken off. My neighbour has had his taken off three times in the last year. There is a lot of traffic, especially with there being two garages on the road and it’s a main road which doesn't help."
Nicola, who is another resident, said: "It’s really bad. The potholes get filled all the time but they just reappear because they always fill them in in the bad weather. It’s really bad at the top."
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: "It gets resurfaced all the time. There are always roadworks going on. It doesn't feel long since it was the last one and it’s just terrible again. It is a really bad road.
"And people people are always parking on either side of the road people are having to drive up the middle which makes the potholes really bad. People have complained so many times, especially with the school traffic as well. It’s a nightmare and dangerous but the council are not interested.
"It gets really busy too, I work in Gildersome and sometimes it takes me ages because I'm just queueing for ages to get home."
One person, who was walking down Asquith Avenue, said: "I have lived in places where the potholes are much worse. I used to live in Cleckheaton and they are way worse there."
Another added: "It’s not good. It’s definitely one of the bad ones and it gets a lot of traffic as it’s a busy main road. I can’t comment on it being one of the worst it Leeds but it's up there."
One person, who lives on Asquith Avenue, said: "Yes it's bad. Lots of people have complained about it. It needs resurfacing desperately. Lots of roads in Leeds are bad for potholes."
Another added: "Leeds city is a complete nightmare for drivers everywhere you go. There are roadworks causing congestion and trying to get to Elland Road from the east of Leeds takes over two hours on match days. Whoever is in charge of this disaster should be replaced."
Asquith Avenue is one of the busiest roads into Morley, it connects the town centre with Geldard Road, which is one of the main connections into the city centre. It also links in to Gildersome and routes out towards Bradford, the M621 and Birstall.
What Leeds City Council says about potholes
A Leeds City Council Spokesperson said: “Leeds City Council has a robust asset management process in place for maintaining our roads and has budgeted to invest upwards of £5million on emergency repairs and preventative maintenance this year. Potholes are identified through our own inspections or reported by residents.
"The identified potholes are then assigned targets of either 24 hours, 7 days, or 28 days to be repaired depending on their level of severity and risk to the public. We have multiple teams on roads across Leeds daily working hard to repair potholes. We also carry out extensive preventative works to stop new potholes from forming and to keep our roads safe. Residents are able to proactively report any potholes online via the Leeds City Council website.
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