CITY’S MEANEST POTHOLES
... and there’s a reward worth £1000 for helping to find Glasgow’s worst offender
THE Evening Times today declares war on the city’s pothole plague – and we need your help to shame council chiefs into action.
Glasgow’s crumbling roads are a danger to drivers, and short-term ‘patches’ are not enough to rid the city of the epidemic.
Our #spothole campaign demands immediate attention from roads bosses – and you can play a part.
GLASGOW’S roads are being wrecked by a plague of potholes...and we are calling on YOU to help us challenge council bosses to sort it out.
Our campaign comes as Glasgow City Council revealed reports of potholes are up a staggering 272% on the same time last year.
Garage owners across the city have boasted they are making “a fortune” from drivers whose tyres have been busted by crumbling city roads.
One said the size of the holes is “frightening” and criticised the council for shoddy repairs.
Experts have slammed roads bosses for not doing enough to protect drivers.
So now, as part of our new #spothole campaign, we want readers to send us pictures of the worst potholes they encounter.
We want to see the biggest, deepest, and most dangerous potholes in Glasgow, the worst of which we’ll publish every day until the city’s riddled roads are sorted out.
And as a thank you, the spotter of the worst pothole will receive a new set of tyres for their vehicle, worth up to £1000.
George Cameron, owner of Glasgow Mobile Tyres, said: “We made a fortune over the last couple of months especially over Christmas due to an increase in potholes.
“We had to do 83 over the week break between Christmas and New Year. I have been everywhere, including Easterhouse and Springburn.
“I was at Anniesland Road four times in December. I think the weather is to blame, but the council aren’t doing enough.”
As revealed this week in the Evening Times, Glasgow City Council received 602 pothole reports in the first week of 2018 compared to 162 in the same week last year.
There were also eight pothole com- plaints made from January 1 to January 7 – compared to 42 for the whole of 2017.
Owner David Mathewson of Cairnlea Garage in Ibrox said: “[We had to do] a lot more suspension repairs compared to last year, such as broken coils. This is down the condition of Glasgow roads. We had a lady from New Zealand who couldn’t believe she had to get her wheels done twice but she never had to do it back home.
“But the potholes are just one side of it, the road conditions aren’t good enough. The size of some of the holes are frightening. But, even when the council does fix them, it is only a temporary repair which usually doesn’t last too long.”
Craig Harrity, Head Technician of Philips Garage, said the firm has seen a 60% increase in the past year of tyres, steering and suspension issues being dealt with by its mechanics.
He puts this down to the state of the roads in the city and claims road maintenance is underfunded.
Craig said: “The plague of potholes is costing motorists billions annually and as yet, we have not seen any significant improvement.
“With the best intentions we may avoid these nuisance holes but it is often the root cause of our wheel alignment woes and they are held responsible for countless incidents including buckled wheels, damage to tyres and suspension components, and although it may not be noticeable initially, misaligned wheels.
“I support road maintenance strategies, however I feel motorists are continually burdened with financial strain to fund maintenance and the money is not being spent to better the cause.
“Whilst I also support officials giving motorists the opportunity to make a claim against damage incurred by the afflicted substrates, I do feel that this service is not adequately promoted as many consumers facing repair bills as a result are unaware that this service is made available to them. Motorists have
been patient for too long whilst also enduring a recent hike in vehicle taxing laws – when will authorities make good on their promises? “The buck stops with them.” Marie Aitkenhead, owner of Byres Road Garage, said: “We are very busy due to pothole damage and are getting a huge increase year-on-year.”
Fareed Mohammed, manager of Best Fit Servicing Centre, added: “There’s definitely an increase in the number of potholes in the city.
“There’s no sign from the council that they are repairing them and even if they are, they aren’t doing it quickly enough to meet the demand.”
Glasgow City Council hit back, saying the cold snap has affected the roads and that there are plans in the coming weeks to repair more than 4500 pothole repairs.
A spokeswoman added: “There is no doubt that our roads have been affected by the recent and prolonged spell of low temperatures.
“In response to this we are maximising the number of pothole and patching squads undertaking repairs throughout the city. Any initiative which encourages the public to report potholes is welcome.”
ave you seen Glasgow’s biggest pothole? We need you to take a photograph of the damage using an item such as a ruler – or a copy of the Evening Times – for scale and send it to us via direct message on our Facebook page.
Alternatively, e-mail your pothole to news@eveningtimes.co.uk, or tweet it using the hashtag #spothole.
Give us your name, the location of the pothole, its size and tell us how long it’s been there. The pothole we deem to be the most dangerous based on size, location and length of time unresolved will win the prize.
We will print your name with your picture.