fixyourstreet.ie

[odlum]

Fix Your Street


A new website which allows people to report problems such as potholes, graffiti and illegal dumping in their area has been launched.


Potholes - New website launched to report errors
A new website which allows people to report problems such as potholes, graffiti and illegal dumping in their area and which will be responded to within 48 hours has been launched today.
Fixyourstreet.ie will initially operate in the South Dublin County Council area for three months but will eventually be rolled out to all local authorities.
Reports will be accepted via the website, through email or on twitter.
A mobile phone app is also being developed which will work with the site.
Officials in South Dublin County Council have committed to responding to the reports within two working days.
Members of the public will be able to monitor the response and continue to interact with the issue once it has been reported through the system.
The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Caitriona Jones has welcomed the scheme saying it would help improve the quality of life of citizens.


rte.ie

Wonder if this will make any real difference. I take "respond" does not mean "fix"

[Arracht]

It's a good idea if the reported problems are addressed. I wouldn't be confident though, I've sent emails to SDCC in the past regarding littering in my area, I got an email back acknowledging receipt of my mail and then never heard anything again.

[ballot stuffer]

It's a good idea, hopefully the follow through is there.

[Sheepy]

Fix Your Street


A new website which allows people to report problems such as potholes, graffiti and illegal dumping in their area has been launched.


Potholes - New website launched to report errors
A new website which allows people to report problems such as potholes, graffiti and illegal dumping in their area and which will be responded to within 48 hours has been launched today.
Fixyourstreet.ie will initially operate in the South Dublin County Council area for three months but will eventually be rolled out to all local authorities.
Reports will be accepted via the website, through email or on twitter.
A mobile phone app is also being developed which will work with the site.
Officials in South Dublin County Council have committed to responding to the reports within two working days.
Members of the public will be able to monitor the response and continue to interact with the issue once it has been reported through the system.
The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Caitriona Jones has welcomed the scheme saying it would help improve the quality of life of citizens.


rte.ie

Wonder if this will make any real difference. I take "respond" does not mean "fix"

This will be their justification for the property tax, your local authority cares about you!

[MsAnneThrope]

Just saw it on the 9pm news now. Seems like a good idea and the software for processing the reports/complaints looks good too. Even if they can't 'turn reports into results' immediately, as long as there is acknowledgement and communication from the council back to the resident(s) I imagine most people will be more understanding, even if the problem is not resolved straight away.

I hope RTÉ will do a follow-up later in the year to see how the scheme is progressing.

[blokesbloke]

I've used the UK site with mixed results. It very much depends on your local council and it doesn't give you anything you couldn't have done already, it's just a means of contacting your council in a public way, I suppose in the hope of shaming them into doing it.

Some issues I've reported they contacted me and resolved the issue quite quickly, some they responded to acknowledge the complaint, but did naff all and never followed it up, and some they ignored completely. Seems a bit hit and miss, because all of the issues were reported to the same council. I suppose it depends on which council department is responsible and some departments are better than others.

To be fair a lot of people have used it to report things which aren't council matters, for example things which clearly should be reported to the police, and damage to property which the council doesn't own - eg. a damaged bus shelter or phone box which should be reported to the relevant company who owns it, not the council. It amazes me what some people think the council is responsible for - they just seem to report anything and assume the council is responsible for any problem they ever faced! No wonder my council tax is so high!

The website doesn't seem to make any effort to inform these people that it's not a council matter and still puts the posts up, so it can create an unfair impression. I think they should have a clear set of guidelines letting people know what is and isn't a council matter, and delete posts which aren't council matters because they do keep stats on how many issues were resolved and it's unfair to the council to count something as unresolved when it's not their responsibility. The website could carry information on who you can contact instead.

Still, it's interesting to see what's been reported in your area and your street and what if anything the council has done about it. It's a useful tool and could be effective if you've been ignored when contacting them in the normal way, but if you really care it's probably worth contacting your councillor directly and speaking to them - I'd expect that to work better. If nothing else has worked though it's worth a try - doesn't take long and might just help. I find the complaints with photos as proof and demonstration of the problem have more impact.

A interesting site, and a worthy idea. Just don't expect too much from it.

[MauriceColgan]

I am already fixing my street by cleaning up eyesores and planting flowers..time and time again. Thousands of hours of labour so far.


I have seen potholes outside flashly landscaped mansions left to worsen and multiply!!! A bag of stone or ready made concrete would solve many a problem.

[Harmonica]

This should be interesting. The map be covered in coloured blobs so quickly the map won't be visible. Potholes are already not fixed on main roads so its not like the local authorities don't know about them.

[Coles]

It's a good idea if the reported problems are addressed. I wouldn't be confident though, I've sent emails to SDCC in the past regarding littering in my area, I got an email back acknowledging receipt of my mail and then never heard anything again.

Are you annoyed because the council never came to pick the litter off the ground for you, or the fact that they never reported back to you afterwards? Communities should be well capable of dealing with their own litter. Not dumping though... that's a matter for the Council and the Gardai.

[pablo104]

Has anyone used this? Doing some research and trying to find out if it's any use of just a pr stunt?