SATELLITE mapping and smartphone technology is now being used as Glasgow tackles its crumbling roads.

A new app which allows people, through their mobile phones or tablets, to report dangerous dips and surfaces is being extended after more than 7000 complaints were logged.

The new tool from Glasgow City Council is available for iPhone and Android devices also allows users to raise gripes about street lighting, fly tipping and litter but the highest number of complaints received so far are from people fed up with deteriorating road surfaces.

LINZI WATSON put the app to the test.

We set out to road test the new app and didn't have to travel far to find a pothole-ridden road.

Drivers negotiating Dolphin Road in Pollokshields face having to swerve to avoid frequent dips, swathes of lose gravel and the exposed edge of a manhole cover.

Satisfied that this crater- blighted road should be highlighted I grabbed my smartphone to report it.

Downloading the app is simple and a quick search for Glasgow City Council in the app store, locates it.

I am asked to enter personal information including e-mail address, phone number and home address to register.

After doing so, the first option on the home page of the app is 'submit a report' and by clicking on this option you can chose a fault category.

I select 'pothole on road' and I am then directed to a form which asked for details of the damage.

Street name, position on the road and 'how often do you take avoiding action?' make up the first few questions.

Next comes 'how dangerous is the defect?' I have five options which range from 'no obvious harm or car damage' to the more alarming 'likely to cause death'.

I decided that the damage in Dolphin Road falls into the category of "wheel or car damage".

Information inputted, I am now asked to take a picture of the damage.

During a break in the traffic I nip out on the road to get a good view and then upload the picture onto the app.

After activating satellite mapping so that the council can access my co-ordinates, I submit my complaint and then receive a reference number.

A confirmation e-mail telling me the report is 'closed' arrives with a link asking me to rate the council on how well they handled it.

With little evidence of at this stage I decide to hold off before leaving a star rating.

Another e-mail then pops into my inbox from the council's My Glasgow Team, which reads: "Potholes are usually assessed within five days.

"Repairs are then scheduled into our work plan and prioritised based on risk and severity.

"This is your confirmation that the incident you reported has been sent for the asses- sment to take place."

It adds: "We hope that you have benefited from the ultimate citizen experience."

We then decide to move on but after driving a short distance were forced to take evasive action to avoid a deep crater on Terregles Avenue, also in the South Side.

I fire up the app again and within minutes my complaint is lodged.

It seems there are few places left in Glasgow where you can escape the potholes plague and a trip to the West End throws up yet another opportunity to hop out an snap a hazardous dip on Horselethill Road in Dowanhill.

Report lodged, job done but - I am left wondering if an increase in the number of pothole complaints make a dramatic difference to the already busy repair schedule?

Glasgow City Council say that in the coming months they hope to further develop the app, allowing it to contact anyone who logs a problem to tell them when the repair has been completed.

Andy Waddell, the city council's head of roads, said: "The road network is valued at £2.8billion and is probably the most valuable asset the council has."

However, the results of recent household surveys show public perception of road conditions is still the lowest of all council services.

linzi.watson@ eveningtimes.co.uk