GLASGOW City Council is making significant inroads into the perpetual problem of potholes, an official report claims.

A half-way progress report prepared for councillors shows the council faced a dramatic drop in the number of problem potholes it was a called to deal with on the city's roads.

A report to the Operational Delivery Scrutiny Committee, which meets tomorrow, shows in the first six months of the current financial year, from April to September 2012, the council dealt with 1154 reported potholes.

That's a significant drop on the 3004 craters it had to deal with in 2011/12, and a massive reduction on the 10,873 of 2010/11.

But it missed a target of 95% fixing reported problems within a day on key routes through the city, and has only managed to repair 91.94%, within a day, the report says.

Executive member for sustainability and transport, councillor Jim Coleman said: "These significant improvements reflect the additional money we have been putting into road improvements and repairs – which has run to around £46million in the last three years alone.

"I'm obviously pleased to see that investment is having a positive impact, but nobody is getting carried away.

"Glaswegians have every right to expect good quality roads and we know we need to keep on investing in our infrastructure if we are going to give them what they want."

The figures came as the city council was recognised by the Association for Public Sector Excellence for its work on the city's roads.

The council's roads team was named the Most Improved Highways Authority in the UK.

Paul O'Brien, chief executive of APSE said: "This award is a well-deserved national recognition for the work of Glasgow City Council's team.

"Operating one of the busiest road networks in Scotland is challenging enough, but to then be able to compete among the highest performing local authorities across the UK on measures of cost, quality and performance is a fantastic example of excellence in public services.

"It shows the commitment of the frontline staff to deliver for local communities and local businesses."

Last week the Evening Times revealed the council carried out a temporary repair on a massive pothole in Springburn within 24 hours of the matter being reported by the Evening Times.

ewan.fergus@eveningtimes.co.uk

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