Letter: We don’t need a digital road survey to know how bad Northern Ireland roads are
A letter from Stevan Patterson:
A new digital road survey using AI launched by infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins to look in detail at the condition of all the roads across Northern Ireland is the latest idea to waste money and will not fix one pothole.
This is part of the DfI's draft – or should I say daft – road maintenance strategy.
The digital mapping similar to Google Street View is due to be completed by April. We all know potholes can appear overnight, so what about the potholes that appear after the digital image?
This is an example of more waste of scarce public resources as this mapping will not address the core problem in the lack of regular resurfacing of our carriageways.
We all can see and feel the potholes that have cost the DfI in compensation payouts for damage to vehicles caused by potholes.
The DFI would be better to carry out improved road maintenance in the first place, saving money in the long term, and also have an enhanced reporting system so that road users can report defects and have procedures in place to repair potholes within 24 hours.
If people see that in reporting potholes they are actually fixed then more will be reported - a simple solution that has no need for AI.
Stevan Patterson, Castlederg, Co Tyrone