We understand that as members of the public, you probably have a lot of burning questions regarding the roads around Buckinghamshire. Well, we're giving you the opportunity to get your questions answered by Transport for Buckinghamshire's Contract Director!
This is the 10th blog post that we have produced focusing on the questions that you have been asking the most, this week we are looking at:
What are you doing about all the weeds this year?
Buckinghamshire County Council has had to balance revenue budgets over recent years. This has required consideration of numerous competing priorities, including our statutory duty to ensure the highway remains safe and serviceable, and also tackling priorities identified through customer feedback. Because of this, routine weed control (with the exception of noxious weeds) has not been carried out with any kind of regularity over the past four years.
Unchecked weed growth isn't just unsightly though - it can also lead to accelerated carriageway deterioration and can inhibit the efficient flow of surface water into and through drainage systems.
In recognition of these longer term effects, TfB has been given an additional £500,000 to spend on routine weed treatment across the county in 2019.
Routine weed treatment is a programme of three cycles of routine spraying that will be undertaken across primary footway locations, including hardstandings, kerbs and channels. This equates to 3,408km of kerbline/channel and 3,055km of footway per treatment.
This spraying will take place in April to combat early season growth, then in June to combat peak season growth and finally in September to combat secondary regrowth. Timings will be adjusted dependent on weather and growth levels. Spraying during high winds and/or heavy rainfall will be avoided as effectiveness is reduced significantly.
We will be using a chemical that is a non-residual contact herbicide.
We also have a statutory obligation to control the noxious and injurious weeds on the highway network across the county and this will continue as normal throughout the year.
