Here’s a rare photo kindly sent in by Paul Doleman. Taken in 1931 the image captures the resurfacing of Market Street with what I presume are some steam-powered contraptions? Can you hazard a guess as to what those machines did?
The most recent, significant, road works to Market Street were completed just prior to the 2006 Open Golf Championships. There was some criticism of the cobbled pavements at the time, but some six years on I wonder if residents and shoppers have got used to the surface?
Negative. The cobbles are uncomfortable to walk on, don’t drain well when it rains and look old fashioned.
Complete waste of money!
It’s not just the cobbles.Since that very shoddy refurbishment,when it rains,sections of pavement become ‘puddled’ and several locations in Market street become flooded along with many of the drains.
Market Street was also narrowed and parking spaces disappeared.Now that’s forward thinking by the council !
Remedial work was promised but never carried out.
…they also hurt people in wheelchairs, the Council did NOT sink the gulleys underneath as I suggested in 2005 and they REALLY hurt to trundle over and the whole lot are slippy when wet …we are humans, not carthorses!
The ‘contraptions’ could be coal heated tarmacadam mixers.
Jim O’Neil comments:
Thinking about narrowing the road, the worst bit is not where they revamped it all, but down by the garage/Cottage Hospital/shops -we have a bottleneck right next to a double-pavement on the sea-ward side…!!
Great picture Paul, I remember you taking it ……………………………..lol