A frustrated councillor has called for a complete overhaul of Fife’s online pothole reporting system.
Tay Bridgehead Lib Dem Johnny Tepp has been waiting more than a month for an update after reporting potentially dangerous damage to a Tayport junction.
Councillors use the same online system as Kingdom residents.
He said: “If this can happen to a councillor imagine what it must be like for a member of the public.
“Why would you bother reporting anything?”
Fife Council’s spending on resurfacing and patching roads tumbled during the pandemic.
Councillor Tepp reported a series of bad potholes outside the Harbour Cafe in Tayport on January 16.
It is a busy junction, important for both visitors and residents. It leads into a small car park outside the harbour and to public toilets and a picnic area.
He is still waiting to discover what, if anything, Fife transport officials plan to do about the problem.
“It seems there isn’t the resource to even investigate reported potholes and undertake a risk assessment. Or the pothole reporting system is broken.
“The fact that the council feedback system doesn’t seem to work reliably is worrying.
“It may reflect a poor system, staffing issues, or both.”
What pothole reporting alternatives are out there?
He pointed towards alternative online systems used in by local government in other parts of the UK.
Fix My Street in Buckinghamshire, for example, allows users to upload photos and written text to report roads defects and parking problems.
The council then publishes the information with an update on how officials intend to deal with the issue.
He said: “We all know the problems are there. The only reason for not using technology is either cost or a desire to cover up the extent of the problems we face.
“I have been fed many lines against Fix My Street implementation including concerns over ‘security’ and lack of fit with Fife’s legacy systems.”
But he said people looking at the alternatives for themselves could see how well members of the public could be informed.
“Better it would seem than councillors in Fife,” he said.
Karen Kelly is customer service team leader at Fife Council.
She said: “We continually work with services to explore improvements to our existing systems.”
