Crackers!

Howdee Folks,

Well, it's official, I'm not on the News and Star site anymore. A bit disappointing, really, as they didn't even tell us. Nevermind! I'm here!

So......a new bee has perched on my bonnet...Do tell, you say.....

When driving through Carlisle every single pole/light/sign has little yellow/orange stickers on it. Say, at an intersection there are 4 poles. Each pole has a number. 1, 2, 3, 4 on it. Now, these are high-quality adhesive stickers.

What is my problem with this?

Well, let me tell you.

1. They look like shit.

2. Those are expensive stickers. We are talking thick, super-adhesive almost 2"x 2" stickers. How many did they purchase of the number one? Must have been a million!!! Because that one is going to be used all the time! Same with number twos.....there must be a storage room somewhere full of just number ones and twos!

3. Labour. Someone had to propose this idea in a meeting. It had to be researched and a report made to propose to this meeting. The meeting then had to debate it for a couple of months, then approve. Then it went back to the Idiotic Department for fleshing out. Spreadsheets had to be created to track this, and of course the ten skillion stickers had to be ordered. Did they think about the fact they were going to need a billion number ones and twos first? Or did they have to re-order. Then, they sent out at least two teams of sticker people. Each team would consist of two people. One to clean the surface and put on the stickers and the other to write down: Orton Road/Wigton Road, Sticker 1, North side of street, pedestrian crossing Orton Road. Sticker 2, North side of street, pedestrian crossing, Wigton Road. Sticker 3, North side, signal pole, Orton Road. You know, as a project, I might go document exactly what these things are and post back. Can you imagine how long this took? All over the city! We have a lamppost out in our neighbourhood with a number something like 764......that means there were 763 other sticker locations prior, and god knows how many more to come!

I ask myself, why? Why have they done this? And I think I have figured it out. They've done it so that they have a shorter solution to either of these options:

1. Someone has reported a light out/sign damaged.

2. Someone has to verify they've ticked all the boxes when doing routine checks.

Either way.....what an amazing waste of funds and time!

Surely it's easy for someone to locate a light out? If someone reports a street light out in Morton....are they now required to give the exact pole number? Or can a person not go out...flip the switch and look up? That must have been too difficult.

What about some sort of verification checks? If they weren't checking them correctly prior to the Sticker Implementation Program...then they aren't going to now, either. It's just as easy to tick lots of boxes as it is to tick one.

Someone....anyone, please explain this to me.

Carlisle City Council has binned £6.6 million (Americans, that's like $11,000,000)on a bogus Renaissance project, and I think I have found where it has gone.

Someone tip off the News and Star!

:) misha