Businesses in Staffordshire are being urged to use an enhanced tool to report potholes and other highways issues to the county council after a £500,000 investment in new technology.
The authority’s ReportIt system has been overhauled to make it easier to flag concerns, including the ability to report the condition of a whole road, in response to feedback from residents.
The system has taken a year to develop, and although it has been tested extensively, the county council is inviting people to provide feedback that will further shape the system.
Reports made using the old system have been transferred, and people can now create an account where they can track the progress of issues they have flagged, with updates provided electronically.
Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for strategic highways Mark Deaville said: “This system has taken over a year to develop, and I hope it will make things easier for residents who want to report an issue on Staffordshire’s highways. This work is a really important part of our ongoing mission to fix more roads and improve customer satisfaction.”
The county council receives around 4,000 reports each month about various highway issues, and aims to respond to reports within 10 working days. The ReportIt tool can only be used for roads maintained by the county council, and is not available for roads in Stoke-on-Trent.
Declan Riddell, Stafford Chamber Manager and Policy Adviser at Staffordshire Chambers’ of Commerce, said: “We really welcome the improvements to Staffordshire County Council’s ReportIt system which should make it easier for residents to report highways issues.
“Potholes and crumbling roads are a pain for motorists and a danger to cyclists. Fixes can only be implemented when the problem is reported. We encourage residents to use the tool for reporting issues on our roads – don’t assume someone else will do it.”
