Fix My Steet – how it works

Fix My Street is a fantastic website that allows people to report problems to the council very quickly and very efficiently, simply by selecting the location of the problem on a map and entering a one sentence description. That’s it. The report is then automatically sent to the appropriate department at Cardiff Council to fix it, which they tend to do pretty quickly.

What sort of things can I get fixed?

• Abandoned vehicles
• Dog Fouling
• Flyposting or graffiti
• Flytipping or litter
• Streetcleaning, such as broken glass in a cycle lane
• Unlit lamposts
• Potholes

Of course the service is free and as you can see from my case study below, it really works and in a timely manor as well.

Why do we need a service like this? In an ideal world we wouldn’t. Most of the problems Fix My Street deal with are the councils responsibility but isn’t it far better to do something about a problem rather than just leave it be or even complain to other members of the public without actually telling the council about it? That’s where this service comes in.

There is a list on the frontpage of MyWhitchurch which gives the most recent local problems reported via Fix My Street.

Case Study

After walking along Whitchurch Common a few weeks ago I noticed one of the benches had been broken or vandalised and it wasn’t terribly safe to use without bits of wood poking you in unfavourable places.

Damaged bench on Whitchurch common - click for full size

I’m not entirely sure the damage was done to the bench recently. It could have been left like it for weeks or months but that makes the point of this example quite clear.

I reported the problem on Fix My Street. You can do this completely anonymously but if you give your name and phone number the council should give you a call to let you know what’s going on. I reported this problem on Monday 10th May and the next day I received a call from the Parks Department telling me they are dealing with it and will look into the matter.

I’ve no idea if the council keep new benches or bench parts in stock or if they are ordered in from a supplier as needs demand but  week later I am pleased to say we have a brand new bench in it’s place.

The new bench that was put on the common

Ok ok this is just a bench and nothing to get excited about but it is a good example how spending 10 seconds to submit the information has actually ended up in something positive for the community.

So there you go. Next time you notice a pot hole or the street light outside your house isn’t working (or worse, it’s on in the daytime) then you can do something about it.

www.fixmystreet.co.uk

Right, now I’m off to vandalise the rest of the benches and bins on the common because they look like they’ve been there since victorian times!

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