Road damage reporting

I've been thinking about damage caused to the road surface by
contractors working for utility companies and building projects. It
would be nice if councils could easily find out where damage (wear and
tear excepted) came from and use the information to extract
compensation. They obviously don't have enough people to collect the
information but the public do. So we'd end up with better roads, less
council tax, fewer punctures or all of the above.

What if there were an online database run with the express purpose of
helping this happen where people could record such damage when they
happen to notice it. The fields for each record might include the
following.

Location (enter lat/long or click on map)
Photos
Contractor
Working for e.g. Breckish Telecom
Project e.g. New substation or fixing burst water pipe
Date spotted
Approximate dates of work
Jurisdiction e.g. Flydale North council
Whether reported and if so when and to whom
Other notes

Is the work to service one property, several or provide services for a
new development ?

Severity from "looks nasty" to "without evasive maneuvers likely to
bend a bicycle wheel or cause accident". [Don't want to make this
bicycle specific.]

I think such a site would require registration to expedite dealing
with bad entries and allow (with permission) a council to contact the
spotter.

What do you think ?

Jon Schneider

"Jonathan Schneider" wrote in message
...
I've been thinking about damage caused to the road surface by
contractors working for utility companies and building projects. It
would be nice if councils could easily find out where damage (wear and
tear excepted) came from and use the information to extract
compensation. They obviously don't have enough people to collect the
information but the public do. So we'd end up with better roads, less
council tax, fewer punctures or all of the above.

What if there were an online database run with the express purpose of
helping this happen where people could record such damage when they
happen to notice it. The fields for each record might include the
following.

Location (enter lat/long or click on map)
Photos
Contractor
Working for e.g. Breckish Telecom
Project e.g. New substation or fixing burst water pipe
Date spotted
Approximate dates of work
Jurisdiction e.g. Flydale North council
Whether reported and if so when and to whom
Other notes

Is the work to service one property, several or provide services for a
new development ?

Severity from "looks nasty" to "without evasive maneuvers likely to
bend a bicycle wheel or cause accident". [Don't want to make this
bicycle specific.]

I think such a site would require registration to expedite dealing
with bad entries and allow (with permission) a council to contact the
spotter.

What do you think ?

Jon Schneider

Have you read (heard?) that highway authorities are currently unaware of who
might be digging up roads or where it's happening? Can you supply details
please?



Thanks,

Paul

Jonathan Schneider wrote:
What if there were an online database run with the express purpose of
helping this happen where people could record such damage when they
happen to notice it.

What about;

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk/

Regards
Mark

On Aug 3, 9:35 pm, Jonathan Schneider
wrote:
I've been thinking about damage caused to the road surface by
contractors working for utility companies and building projects. It
would be nice if councils could easily find out where damage (wear and
tear excepted) came from and use the information to extract
compensation.

SNIP

What do you think ?

Jon Schneider



www.fixmystreet.com

Matt

In message , Jonathan Schneider
writes
I've been thinking about damage caused to the road surface by
contractors working for utility companies and building projects. It
would be nice if councils could easily find out where damage (wear and
tear excepted) came from and use the information to extract
compensation. They obviously don't have enough people to collect the
information but the public do. So we'd end up with better roads, less
council tax, fewer punctures or all of the above.


What if there were an online database run with the express purpose of
helping this happen where people could record such damage when they
happen to notice it

snip

Well, they already have information on the works being carried out.
since under the 1991 New roads and Street works Act, utilities etc. have
to notify the Local Authority and the LA has to keep a register of the
said works.

If they are notified of damage, they certainly have the information
available to chase up the relevant utility, whether or not they do I've
no idea.

So I don't see any need for individuals to go about recording this.

As for reporting damage, well there is the Fill That Hole site, setup by
the CTC, where you can report damage, and the information is forwarded
on to the relevant authority.

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
--
Chris French

On 04/08/2007 00:34, chris French said,

As for reporting damage, well there is the Fill That Hole site, setup by
the CTC, where you can report damage, and the information is forwarded
on to the relevant authority.

....who promptly ignore it! Time to re-submit my favourite dodgy bit of
road, I think :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Aug 4, 1:18 pm, Paul Boyd wrote:
...who promptly ignore it! Time to re-submit my favourite dodgy bit of
road, I think :-)


Now now don't be too negative - Leicestershire County Council at least
go and visit the site then report back that they're not going to do
anything about it for at least 12 months!

Someone reported a very badly rutted and potholed road near to me via
the CTC's website in March, the council (Conwy) said they would be
resurfacing it in July so couldn't do anything about it until then
even though it was very close to being dangerous for a cyclist. They
resurfaced it but only surface dressed it so all the ruts and potholes
are still there just covered with a bit of tar now!

peter

in message om,
naked_draughtsman ') wrote:

On Aug 4, 1:18 pm, Paul Boyd wrote:
...who promptly ignore it! Time to re-submit my favourite dodgy bit of
road, I think :-)

Now now don't be too negative - Leicestershire County Council at least
go and visit the site then report back that they're not going to do
anything about it for at least 12 months!

Someone reported a very badly rutted and potholed road near to me via
the CTC's website in March, the council (Conwy) said they would be
resurfacing it in July so couldn't do anything about it until then
even though it was very close to being dangerous for a cyclist. They
resurfaced it but only surface dressed it so all the ruts and potholes
are still there just covered with a bit of tar now!

I have very mixed feelings on this issue. I live in an area officially
classified as 'remote rural'. As such we have the lowest average wages in
mainland Britain, and greatly more than the average milage of roads per
council tax payer.

On the whole our roads are extraordinarily well maintained - certainly as
compared to neighbouring regions. I enjoy cycling on them, but I can't
help feeling that this is a great waste of public money given the many
other urgent calls on the public purse.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Let's have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck
;; in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle.
;; Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Dem, OR)

On 2007-08-05, Simon Brooke wrote:
in message om,
naked_draughtsman ') wrote:

On Aug 4, 1:18 pm, Paul Boyd wrote:
...who promptly ignore it! Time to re-submit my favourite dodgy bit of
road, I think :-)

Now now don't be too negative - Leicestershire County Council at least
go and visit the site then report back that they're not going to do
anything about it for at least 12 months!

Someone reported a very badly rutted and potholed road near to me via
the CTC's website in March, the council (Conwy) said they would be
resurfacing it in July so couldn't do anything about it until then
even though it was very close to being dangerous for a cyclist. They
resurfaced it but only surface dressed it so all the ruts and potholes
are still there just covered with a bit of tar now!

I have very mixed feelings on this issue. I live in an area officially
classified as 'remote rural'. As such we have the lowest average wages in
mainland Britain, and greatly more than the average milage of roads per
council tax payer.

If they don't fill in the holes though people can and do sue them if
they fall off their bike because of them. By pointing out to them where
they are you're actually saving them the cost of having someone go
around looking for them.

On the whole our roads are extraordinarily well maintained - certainly as
compared to neighbouring regions. I enjoy cycling on them, but I can't
help feeling that this is a great waste of public money given the many
other urgent calls on the public purse.

They waste more money on worse things I'm sure. I'll settle for a hole
in the road filled in.

in message , Ben C
') wrote:

On 2007-08-05, Simon Brooke wrote:
in message om,
naked_draughtsman ') wrote:

On Aug 4, 1:18 pm, Paul Boyd wrote:
...who promptly ignore it! Time to re-submit my favourite dodgy bit
of road, I think :-)

Someone reported a very badly rutted and potholed road near to me via
the CTC's website in March, the council (Conwy) said they would be
resurfacing it in July so couldn't do anything about it until then
even though it was very close to being dangerous for a cyclist. They
resurfaced it but only surface dressed it so all the ruts and potholes
are still there just covered with a bit of tar now!

I have very mixed feelings on this issue. I live in an area officially
classified as 'remote rural'. As such we have the lowest average wages
in mainland Britain, and greatly more than the average milage of roads
per council tax payer.

If they don't fill in the holes though people can and do sue them if
they fall off their bike because of them. By pointing out to them where
they are you're actually saving them the cost of having someone go
around looking for them.

People should take responsibility for themselves, not try to offload it
onto tax-payers. If there's a pothole in the road, don't ride into it!
Yes, the council have a duty to maintain the roads. But we're currently
asking for roads to be maintained to a standard which imposes costs on the
community which are not commensurate with the benefits, in my opinion.

On the whole our roads are extraordinarily well maintained - certainly
as compared to neighbouring regions. I enjoy cycling on them, but I
can't help feeling that this is a great waste of public money given the
many other urgent calls on the public purse.

They waste more money on worse things I'm sure. I'll settle for a hole
in the road filled in.

Maybe you would. I'd rather have decent schools and decent care for the
elderly.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
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