COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 11, 2021

MOTION NO. 14

MOTION: Councillor Alan Edge

That the Chief Executive adds an additional category to the FixYourStreet platform for access-related issues for people with disabilities.

REPORT:

FixYourStreet is a national system that is operated by all local authorities and was developed by South Dublin County Council. It is a publicly accessible web site with associated mobile technologies on which non emergency issues such as graffiti, road defects, issues with street lighting, water leaks/drainage issues, and litter or illegal dumping can be reported. Currently members of the public who wish to submit service requests related to accessiblity issues would do so under the relevant category e.g. 'Road or Path Defects' and the item is referred to the correct service department within the relevant local authority for assessment and follow-up action. Examples of issues raised through the system are presented below:

  1. "Pathways need to be repaved and repaired - The pathways along XX Road and XX road are in bad condition and need to be repaved. I have noticed tree routes sticking up under the pathways, numerous cracks and many holes along the pathway. The steps and slopes in the area are also too steep for many of the local residents and create accessibility concerns."
  2. "Overgrow hedges and trees - Accessibility to XX crescent by foot path. Impeding children,wheelchair,prams, walkers and elderly neighbors"
  3. "Accessibility Issue! Hi there! I was walking this path with my elderly mother recently, and this type of side-ways incline in incredibly difficult for her to use. She almost fell over on the non-flat surface. 
    The incline for this ramp is non-standard and has accessibility problems for those in wheelchairs, the elderly and even people with buggies. It´s a well documented accessibility issue. Up & down inclines are manageable, but side-ways inclines cause huge problems. I suggest just making it flat, with a smaller dished curb for cars. The pedestrian usage of this pathway is high, and only a few cars go in & out very slowly anyway. Thanks very much."

To create a dedicated category for accessiblity issues requires each local authority to identify an appropriate section that the category is referred to, who then have to identify and diseminate the service request to the relevant department that would assess and carry out any works required. Hence the proposal is adding an extra layer of administration in the processing of the request, requiring increased resources and a slower result.  Such a change also has national implementation considerations and each local authority would need to plan their work processes accordingly.

If the purpose of the motion is to enable the provision of reports on the number of accessiblity issues that are raised through the system, our internal search functionality within the system can provide such reports. 

The executive will listen to the discussion on the motion at Council and will subsequently any consider potential service improvements identified for disabled people in using the system.