Meet the latest volunteers helping to speed up road repairs
Four parish councillors are the latest recruits helping to fix problems on the county’s roads more quickly.
The Kidlington parish council volunteers received their training – and cans of spray paint to mark up defects – from Oxfordshire County Council last month to become Fix My Street ‘super users’.
They are among about 150 super users across the county trained to inspect potholes, blocked drains and damaged kerbing since the pilot scheme started in 2019. And the search is on for more.
All residents are encouraged to report road or street problems on Fix My Street, which can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website. But super users can sometimes fast-track the process instances by ordering the defect repairs directly with our contractor.
Councillor Lesley McLean, Leader of Kidlington Parish Council, said: “Enrolling as Fix My Street super users is an ideal way of increasing community involvement in areas that will improve our village. There is huge public interest in fixing potholes and unblocking drains, and now our members can use their local knowledge and contacts to target the county council’s resources where they are needed most.
“Our residents can be reassured that the report they make on Fix My Street will be prioritised through local super users, where the criteria is met. We look forward to getting stuck in with our spray cans and doing our bit to make our roads safer.”
The super user volunteers are only expected to cover their local area on mainly residential or quieter roads, not A-roads, and only when it is safe to do so. All equipment and training is provided.
Although county council highways officers inspect their areas regularly, additional help from local people increases the number of defects that can be repaired and makes the process more efficient.
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “I am constantly in awe of the work that volunteers do in our county, and I am incredibly grateful for the time and effort the Fix My Street super users put in to make our highways teams aware of problems on the roads.
“Their local knowledge, enthusiasm and hard work are helping us to resolve potholes, kerbing and drainage issues more quickly and efficiently. I would like to thank them for their efforts and invite more people to join them in improving the situation on the streets where they live.”
Any residents or organisations wanting to become Fix My Street super users should email volunteercoordinationteam@Oxfordshire.gov.uk for more information.
The Fix My Street super users are among the initiatives that form part of the county council’s Oxfordshire Together (OXTOG) programme of volunteers.
Other volunteering opportunities include road sign cleaning, maintaining public rights of way, school crossing patrols, managing salt bins, providing community transport, or joining one of the county’s more than 100 community action groups.
Details about OXTOG are available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.
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