It’s a sad state of affairs when the fixing of a pothole in our City is newsworthy- but it is. Particularly in this case when it follows a serious accident in June 2023 on Bridge Road, outside the Dentists’, heading towards the bridge. A cyclist who impacted with this pothole fell over her handlebars, breaking her jaw, teeth and a finger. This was widely reported and the family are now seeking compensation from the Council.

Press reports say the pothole was first reported in August 2022 via the Council’s online reporting system. The overall condition of the road to the village was raised with CEC by one of Colinton’s Community Councillors in January 2023 who told the Council :“a number of potholes remain that are small enough to be minimal for cars but large enough to be a major issue for cyclists”. Prophetic words….

Following the accident in June the pothole remained unrepaired over July and was reported again by a Community Councillor on the Council's emergency number. Then, after a second negative press report, the pothole was patched, as this image from another of our Community Councillors shows.

So why was the Bridge Road pothole not repaired sooner? Local City Councillor Scott Arthur, Convenor of the Transport and Environment Committee, has said:

“I understand that officers inspected the site in line with the Council’s risk-based approach to repairing potholes and decided that the defect did not need to be prioritised for repair. This suggests to me that the Transport Committee should reconsider the funding it has allocated to dealing with reactive repairs to allow defects like this to be repaired more quickly, I shall be discussing this issue with council officers.” So………. there is hope!

If you see a pothole that could be a risk to pedestrians, cyclists or drivers, please report it via    https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/roadproblem