Website vows to make dent in pothole complaints in 48 hours

LONG BATTLES with local authorities over potholes and blocked sewers could become a thing of the past with the introduction of an initiative to respond to residents’ complaints within 48 hours.

Fixyourstreet.ie will allow householders to log complaints with their local authority in relation to issues such as graffiti, road defects, street lighting, illegal dumping and drainage via the internet. The site will initially be available to customers of South Dublin County Council for a three-month basis before being extended to all local authorities.

Details of the scheme will be announced today by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, but its key feature is that any complaint will be responded to by the relevant local authority within two working days.

Residents will be able to monitor the progress of their complaint once it has been reported through the website, by e-mail, twitter, and through mobile phone applications.

“I see huge potential in this initiative to allow residents to bring matters to the attention of their council in a quick and easy way. It will also facilitate local authorities to deal with issues raised in an efficient and effective manner,” Mr Hogan said.

During the pilot phase the South Dublin council will work with a number of other local authorities to ensure the speedy extension of the scheme, Mr Hogan said. “It is envisaged that once the pilot is completed and evaluated, it will be rolled out on a national basis with any necessary adaptations.”

This initiative is in line with a commitment in the programme for government, Mr Hogan said.

A similar scheme, fixmystreet.com, is operating in Britain. The site allows residents to report problems, monitor complaints and to see what issues have recently been reported in their areas.

Complaints can be viewed by category such as dumping, graffiti etc, or by area using interactive maps. The British site also allows users to see how quickly any local authority deals with a complaint.