Cranky at Black and White

So I'm a little bit cranky at the local council. About 12 months ago, before my Muddy Organiser started school, we started talking to the chief engineer at council about whacking a load of gravel opposite the end of our road so that the bus could pull off the road safely and not get bogged (it would also save our shoes from getting too sandy or muddy when it's wet, but you can't use that excuse with council). The engineer said just tell me what the bus company needs and I'll make it happen. The bus company said 'we need not to get bogged and to have enough room to pull fully off the highway'. The engineer said, yes, no problem, there's a few we need to do so we'll put it on the list, it's important especially as you'll be using it each day.

The start of school came and went (and it was WET), and still no gravel. The bus has slowly been wearing tracks in the dirt and sand, when it's wet it will spin it's wheels a few times before grabbing traction and pulling away, much to my relief. By the time the bus gets to us it's pretty much full, there's about 30-40 kids on it, and it needs a tractor to pull it out if it gets bogged (yes it's happened the Muddy Pa has pulled it out once before). I have recurring nightmares of having to ferry kids down in my car to where the crossroads are and they change to the next bus into town.

Yesterday morning on my way to town I got a little excited as I approached our bus stop, the council workers were there, I started to do my little happy dance, then realised they weren't there for the gravel. They were replacing a perfectly good black and white sign with a new bigger black and white sign. Given our road only has two houses at the end of it and we are the only people (other than visitors and the postman) who use the road in my opinion it's a waste of time and money. Maybe there's a new law I don't know about that says the black and white signs must be a certain size, maybe it's an RTA thing, but for 2 council workers to come out, remove the old (perfectly good) sign and bang in an extra 2 new posts and hang up the new sign, to me it's a waste. I'd rather have my load of gravel! My preference (if council cared to ask) is to do everything possible to avoid getting the school bus bogged, to help get the kids to school and to avoid me being a taxi for those 40 kids when it does get bogged so they don't miss the next bus! I know if it does get bogged it won't be council workers pulling it out it will be Muddy Hubby on the tractor!

I know it's a small issue, I know I shouldn't get so worked up about it. However when you have a council that is continually crying poor and telling us they need to up our rates by 50% (I kid you not) then it really makes me wonder why they would spend money doing something like this. I can cope with muddy shoes and the fear of the bus getting bogged and go without the gravel, but did they really have to make me cranky by replacing a perfectly good sign.

Our flash new sign

View from the bus stop on a warm summer morning

Did you have similar issues with your local council? How do you tackle your council problems?