Fill the hole website

[Tangled Metal]

Just spent half an hour reporting potholes and surfaces being repair. Not easy on a mobile.

I hope some of you guys do this as well. I did it last year and a month later a few holes got filled. Just not the one I rode into. Still I've reported the same section and several other sections too. Let's hope they complete the job.

Seriously though, does anyone else report potholes? Worthwhile doing IMHO.

[old_windbag]

I have used the site a lot but gave up after the standard of repairs were nearly as bad as many of the defects i reported. Plus using the 40mm depth rule meant that in a cluster of holes i'd finr 50% filled. So site works well but standard of repair depends on your local authority. Mine tend to be very poor indeed in fact comedic.

[Psamathe]

Likewise. But I found Norfolk Highways repairs so bad that I had to avoid the repairs as much as the potholes.

And report several along a section of road and they come along, spray it with tar and scatter loads of lose chippings - so holes and bumps are still there but if you don't slide off because of the lose surface they you can't see the uneven surface.

If they repaired half decently then it would be worthwhile, but replacing one hazard with another seems a bit pointless.

Ian

[Pete Owens]

One reason it is worth reporting holes is that it assists anyone making a claim should they get injured or break their bike due to a pothole. Normally the council will give the standard brush off - "We inspected the road X months ago so it must have been recent". If the hole was reported to fill that hole then there is a public record and the council cannot claim to have been unaware of it.

If you zoom in to south warrington you can probably spot my commute by the density of flags!

[Phil Fouracre]

I thought they were 'cost effective' traffic calming at least thats what our council seem to think

[Mick F]

If I were to report every pothole I see locally, I'd be on the site permanently.

[mjr]

Seriously though, does anyone else report potholes? Worthwhile doing IMHO.

Yes, I do, but I find www.fixMyStreet.com easier to use and handles non-pothole problems too. I use stills taken from handlebar camera footage of the worst ones (which also means I don't have to stop and note the exact location).

[Lance Dopestrong]

I report them the the Council via their website. I also pass on details of the worst ones to this fellow...

https://m.facebook.com/WanksyRoadArtist

[Psamathe]

Seriously though, does anyone else report potholes? Worthwhile doing IMHO.

Yes, I do, but I find http://www.fixMyStreet.com easier to use and handles non-pothole problems too. I use stills taken from handlebar camera footage of the worst ones (which also means I don't have to stop and note the exact location).

I used to use that but their iPhone app looked not fantastic. when interrupting my ride I want quick and easy and minimal rather than donation requests, etc. I also want offline as I do minimum recording at the hazard and fill in the rest at home afterwards and then submit. And Fill that hole was a bit better in that regard.

Ian

[Mick F]

It's been years since I reported any.

Today, out for a ride, I counted 21 potholes between Tavistock town centre in the affluent county of Devon to the county border. 4.5miles of A390.
From the border over the bridge into the EU Objective One funded county of Cornwall to the village of Gunnislake, I counted 25 potholes. This is still the A390 but this distance is only half a mile.

Report 'em all??????

This is before I even count them on the minor roads.
They are too numerous to count.

[Guy951]

Seriously though, does anyone else report potholes? Worthwhile doing IMHO.

I report 'em, but on Fix My Street rather Than Fill That Hole. Fix My Street also allows you to report encroaching vegetation, broken street lights, fly-tipping, and all sorts of other stuff the council should be made aware of. It's a very good tool.

[Psamathe]

It's been years since I reported any.

Today, out for a ride, I counted 21 potholes between Tavistock town centre in the affluent county of Devon to the county border. 4.5miles of A390.
From the border over the bridge into the EU Objective One funded county of Cornwall to the village of Gunnislake, I counted 25 potholes. This is still the A390 but this distance is only half a mile. :shock:

Report 'em all??????

This is before I even count them on the minor roads.
They are too numerous to count.

I used to report loads. But then they took ages to repair and the repairs were as bad as the holes.

So I started deciding I'd do an occasional disrupted ride i.e. a ride where I would accept less distance/longer time and I'd stop and report them all. And apart from potentially enabling a few when it came to making claims (and how many people with a broken suspension check on the Fill that hole/Fix my street/etc web sites), all I was doing was interfering with my ride. Cynical reports of fixed holes that were "not adequate" or had come apart within a month got nowhere.

Winter was worse as wearing gloves you had to take the gloves off (to work the phone) and then if your hands/gloves were damp they were difficult to get back on.

Only thing I found worked was adding a comment along the lines of "3rd time of reporting so maybe time to get my local Councillor on the case ?" and then it would be done within the week - but you'd still have to avoid the repaired patch.

So why disrupt your ride and achieve very little. Yet I do still feel that I ought to be reporting them.

Ian

[Mick F]

We live on a steep narrow lane, and 20years ago they resurfaced it.
Great eh?
Nope, coz they've done very little to it since.

Because of all the rains we had last autumn/winter, the holes that had appeared over the years got worse.
I got in touch with Cornwall Highways and let them know about the issues.
I had a nice polite reply, but was told that the steward(?) would be looking generally and would report any problems. A few months later, SOME of the holes were filled ............... and I could have done a better job of it.

Therefore, I reckon three things:
1. There's not enough money to repair the roads properly .......................... despite Objective One funding for Cornwall.
2. There's a steward employed to do his rounds and keep an eye on the roads .......... just like they employ people to check on street-lights and road signs.
3. Fill That Hole only raises the existing problems that they already know about. Maybe it gets your pet problem to the top of the pile.

[mjr]

Only thing I found worked was adding a comment along the lines of "3rd time of reporting so maybe time to get my local Councillor on the case ?" and then it would be done within the week - but you'd still have to avoid the repaired patch.

So why disrupt your ride and achieve very little. Yet I do still feel that I ought to be reporting them.

Actually, it sounds like you should see if you can get your local councillor to work on reforming the Norfolk Transport Asset Management Plan because it's clearly not working for cycling (yet again).

[old_windbag]

I used to report loads. But then they took ages to repair and the repairs were as bad as the holes.

I think I'm in the same boat as Ian. I reported many potholes and defects, some were done within 1-2 weeks others took up to 6 months( possibly related to no budget left until new financial year ). The repairs were third rate, in fact irish travellers would have done a better job and we know their reputation.

I think if you put wording such as "this defect is likely to kill a cyclist" it may alert them to respond quickly. I sometimes see the survey van that goes around using ultrasound I think to map the road surface and all defects that need fixing. Obviously it's on a planned schedule so in between reporting is required, it'd be best to send council operatives out on bikes and they'd see the reality of the situation. Utility companies are responsible for many problems, their reinstatement of the road surface leaves a lot to be desired. On fill that hole I left a comment on a report "even the luftwaffe didn't damage our roads to the extent our utility companies do".

Interestingly a road near me was in a shocking state for all the years I've lived here, then the tour of britain comes. A few weeks before whole sections of the road were replaced with perfect tarmac sections.... and I mean really flat and smooth, so it can be done but it was ok for all other cyclists in the years before to risk their necks on it . Also recently other sections of the same road with the tiniest of defects have been arrowed and highlighted for repair? Why, well there is a huge open cast application pending and it seems as much as there is huge local objection it may simply be a done deal, hence the road improvements for heavy traffic. What a world we live in.