I am still at home waiting for surgery to get my knee, and the rest of me, back into the workforce. To help fill in the boredom hours I have turned myself into an urban activist.The current project involves getting the City Council (Manukau) to put a rocket under contractors that don't sweep loose chip off the roads after resealing: a regular nuisance in our 'burb, 'Rewa Hard.I have our four local Councillors and the Mayor climbing over the City Transportation Manager about this. They applied enough pressure for Blacktop to turn up this afternoon in our street and finally put a sweeper over the job - after three months.I recall a lot of chat floating around a few years ago about bikers getting all bolshie and prosecuting local bodies for leaving roadworks without signs. I know the Police spoke to the local Council at Thames after my sister dropped her Katana on SH2 on a totally bald piece of tar in a heavy rain storm, and the road had new chip on it the next day, but there was no prosecution.In fact, whenever I have heard (stories, legendary or otherwise, I dunno) of the Police being pro-active like this it has been like my sister's case, suggesting that a road in poor repair requires urgent attention. And I must say Manukau City always take swift action if you can get to the right person to cause it to happen. (Gotta say, if you don't know, emailing the Mayor digs out the right person fairly quick.)But: prosecutions. Does anyone know of any cases of a local body being prosecuted as a consequence of an accident caused by un-signposted roadworks? The only one I can track down that is not legendary is from 2004, when Chris Parkin, then a Wellington City Councillor, took a successful private prosecution for criminal nuisance against Tararua District Council and Infracon after he put his Aprilia in the bin when he hit metal on the road where there were no warning signs. If anyone knows of any other similar cases, could you please let me know? I am sure I could throw the knowledge that it could happen to a local authority into the mixture to keep the pressure on the Council here.
