Bad Engineering number 1?

I really am flabbergasted at the works that have taken place at ISIS LOCK (see here and Maffi’s rather good post here for examples).  BW say it was in collaboration with the EA and the EA say it has nothing to do with them. I can quite believe it has nothing to do with the EA because the EA are quite good at lock landings and flood control and the works at ISIS lock look as if they are a million miles away from EA engineering.

The EA have good landing stages for their locks. They aren’t too wide, and they have a hand rail which is great if you aren’t feeling too steady on your feet. They also have a good surface to walk on which is designed to grip in all weathers.When you walk along them there is no fear of falling off, you can grab on to a rail:

You would have thought that if you wanted to build a landing stage then the EA would be quite a good place to get an idea from wouldn’t you. BW don’t:

This platform at ISIS LOCK is not made from the same stuff as the EA ones.  Having spent nigh on 6years on and off crutches I am rather clued into slippery surfaces and this looks like a SLIPPERY SURFACE.

Having spent 6 years on and off crutches in the past I know how to be careful on slippery surfaces, but there are NO HANDRAILS on this pontoon and a large gap between it and the bank.

I think it is dangerous even for people with both feet on the ground.  Ironically BW put a slope in for disabled users and the slope has a hand rail… but not the pontoon.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

IF that isn’t bad enough – you should see how they built it, even I think I could do better…!

This is an accident waiting to happen and strangely BW aren’t interested.