Easter now finished so some accurate stoppage figures

VICTOR wonders how much of the system was actually open this Easter with Keith Gudgin reporting stoppage after stoppage and telling that at the start of the Easter break there were no less than 16 stoppages.

With the four day Easter holiday now finished, Allan Richards gives some actual figures.

The four days of Easter

Whilst some might consider that Easter consists of the seven days from Good Friday onwards, here it is restricted to the four days starting Good Friday ( 15—18 April 2022). Exceptionally, this year we have seen an overrun of three winter works. These are included in the figures given which are snapshots taken at 21:00 hours each day.

Good Friday—17

Saturday—17

Sunday—17

Easter Monday—19

Monitoring stoppages

Back in the summer of 2012, an average day would find C&RT's waterways closed in about eight places. By last summer, snapshots suggested that the figure had risen to around 14.

This is in complete contrast to C&RT's measures of 'Stewardship Score' and 'Asset Condition' which show a slight improvement. At one time, C&RT had a Key Performance Indicator for 'Days Lost' to closures. C&RT abandoned this improving measure when it was shown that they were only reporting a small fraction of 'Days Lost' by excluding the vast majority as being 'beyond our control'.

As a spin off from a non-canal related project, I am now capturing stoppages on a daily basis. Provided I am still alive and feel motivated to do it, over a number of years this will give a true picture of the continuing decline of C&RT's waterways.

From little acorns...