An MSP has branded Edinburgh the "pothole capital of Europe", with several residents forced to fork out on expensive car repairs due to the "shocking" state of roads. Lothian MSP Miles Briggs posted a picture on Twitter of a large hole on Charlotte Square in the New Town area of the capital, where the road has been completely worn away.
The Tory politician said: "I’ve never seen Edinburgh’s roads in such a shocking state of disrepair. The city is rapidly becoming the pothole capital of Europe."
After submitting a FOI request to City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Express found that Queensferry Road had the highest number of complaints for "road defects" between 2017-2021. Ferry Road, one of the main roads from Queensferry to Leith, also received multiple complaints over the years in 2017, 2019 and again in 2020.
Shockingly, the report showed that almost £55,000 has been spent to repair potholes in the capital over the last five years, with the highest amount paid in 2018 at an eye-watering £23,131.25.
Taking to social media, one resident fumed: "It has stopped me often cycling which is not what you need for the population or environment."
Another wrote: "I couldn’t agree more they are beyond potholes they are dangerous subsidence and Glasgow is exactly the same!… I burst a tyre on Christmas Eve due to one and damages my wheel!…"
Motorists in Glasgow have faced similar issues with roads and have created a Facebook page, which now has over 7.4k members, to use as a "tool" alerting drivers to badly affected areas But Mr Briggs believes Edinburgh's roads may have become even worse than the streets Glasgow.
He said: “Edinburgh has now become the pothole capital of Europe and the poor condition of the capital’s road is an ongoing issue. Motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians are reporting more and more potholes and local roads in a worse condition than I can remember.
"Potholes are unsafe for all road users, especially cyclists. The number of claims for car damage has skyrocketed in the last few years with a compensation claim almost every day on average.
City of Edinburgh Council pothole repairs
Year |
Claims Received |
|
Year |
Payments Made |
2021 |
418 |
|
2021 |
£8,715.31 |
2020 |
355 |
|
2020 |
£10,531.00 |
2019 |
107 |
|
2019 |
£4,569.67 |
2018 |
399 |
|
2018 |
£23,131.25 |
2017 |
130 |
|
2017 |
£8,033.23 |
Grand Total |
1,409 |
|
Grand Total |
£54,980.46 |
“Due to continued cuts to council budgets by SNP and Green Ministers, Edinburgh Council are no longer in a position where they can maintain our roads. We need to see a specific Pothole Fund from the Scottish Government to deal with the state of our roads.”
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, responded: “I know how frustrating road defects like potholes can be for all road users, and we recently redirected additional resources in light of the volume of enquiries currently coming through. This increase in enquires has been worsened by the prolonged cold weather in mid to late December followed by torrential rain on December 30 and then continued wet weather."
The news comes after single mum Karen Reilly had to fork out £600 on repairs after a large pothole wrecked her car just weeks after Christmas. The 48-year-old, from Edinburgh, was travelling along Foundry Road in Loanhead on Saturday, January 14, when the car hit a huge hole, damaging the exhaust and suspension.
Meanwhile, in Glasgow, motorist Ashley Smith was left with a burst tyre after driving over a pothole on Garscube Road. The 33-year-old was travelling at just 21 mph when she hit the crater, which led to her having to spend almost £100 on a new tyre.
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