A fed-up taxi driver who took council staff on a “pot hole tour” of Glasgow says the roads have never been worse.
The Daily Record reports Jason Porteous, who has been driving his cab for 20 years, took roads bosses around some of the city’s worst craters after becoming tired of dodging them for more than a year.
The 50-year-old hit out just weeks after dozens of fellow drivers staged a protest outside the City Chambers and campaigners called for the council to declare a “pot hole emergency”.
He said he and his colleagues are furious at being “pushed” into expensive new vehicles to comply with Glasgow’s controversial Low Emission Zone (LEZ) only to risk major damage while at work.
He said: “I’ve been complaining to the council for years and nothing was changing.
“I told them I wasn’t going to let up so three of them came out with me with a camera and I took them on a tour of the roads.
“Within the city boundary there’s barely a road now which is drivable without hitting a pot hole. That’s how bad it’s getting.
“The roads are the worst they have ever been and I’m constantly trying to remember where they are to avoid them.
“This is a big deal for us taxi drivers as we’re being pushed into these ridiculously-priced vehicles to drive on these roads. We’re really up against it.”
Last month taxi drivers who say their cars have been badly damaged by reported potholes sounded their horns on a slow drive-by the council HQ on George Square.
And campaign group Potholes Make Glasgow has called on the council spend more on road maintenance.
Jason said: “The pot holes on Wellington Street are so bad now they’re more like a sink hole than a pot hole and cars have to manoeuvre to the other side of the road, which is dangerous.
“I only work through the day now. Night shift drivers don’t have a chance of avoiding the pot holes because it’s dark.
“It does eat up a lot of my time reporting this. I’m going to make an official complaint over the way this is being handled.”
Glasgow City Council said all of the issues reported by Jason were “properly assessed” and included in a programme of repairs, with the most serious faults being repaired as a “matter of priority”.
It said reported issues on Wellington Road had been inspected and subsidence found, which was being investigated with Scottish Water.
A spokesman said: “Following the lowest road surface temperatures in a decade in December 2022, an extended period of heavy rain led to a sharp rise in pothole reports in January 2023.
“To address these road conditions, the road maintenance budget for 2023/24 was doubled to £12m. This will ensure 175 resurfacing projects across the city will be completed by the end of this financial year and we also have teams out every day for smaller repairs.
“We inspect the roads network as a matter of routine, but the public is always urged to report issues to us via our website, through the MyGlasgow App and social media accounts and, in an emergency, by phoning the Roads and Lighting Faults phone line.”
Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-taxi-driver-blasts-dangerous-32390679
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