An increased number of deep potholes is heightening tempers on the northern end of the Coast, not least Ron Garnsey and his Uber driver wife who coughed up $740 in vehicle damage that Council is refusing to reimburse.
In January this year, Garnsey’s wife was Ubering from her home in Tuggerawong to Glen Road, Narara when she hit an unavoidable and deep pothole that caused $740 damage to her front, left wheel.
Garnsey set about putting a claim in with Council, only to have it rejected.
In a letter to Garnsey on January 12 2022, Garnsey was advised that Council was not liable for the damage.
“Under the Civil Liberties Act 2002, Council cannot be held liable for damage caused as a result of road failure or a pothole, unless the road/pothole resulted from Council’s negligence.
“It has been determined that the cause of failure at this location was natural deterioration (and) as such, it is not considered that the failure or damage arises as a result of negligence on the part of the Council,” it said.
Garnsey said Council’s claim is absurd and that while weather events, such as the one the Coast is experiencing right now, might contribute to further disrepair in the roads, it still remains the duty of the Council to fix them, and fix them with speed.
“I was not prepared to let it slide … but then things took a really interesting turn,” he said.
After receiving this letter, Garnsey contacted Member for Dobell, Emma McBride who raised the issue on Garnsey’s behalf.
Council responded on 14 February 2022.
“The potholes on Glen Road have been repaired and Glen Road continues to be inspected,” it said.
Garnsey was advised to contact the Section Manager (Pavements) at Council if he sought further clarification.
“The Section Manager repeated that the pothole was not caused by Council negligence and that it was an ‘Act of God’.
Garnsey said that he was told that the potholes on Glen Road had been scheduled for repair in December.
“To me, that demonstrates that Council knew the road was in a state of disrepair, and by admitting it had scheduled works, it knew it was responsible for fixing the damage,” he said.
He argued that there is a purposeful blurring of lines that means Council can shirk responsibility.
“I know the Council is broke, but why should I suffer and pick up the tab for something they knew needed fixing?”
“I told the Section Manager that I should take the money out of the $2,100 rates I pay each year,” he said.
Last Friday (March 24), Garnsey put a call out on Facebook for people whose vehicles had suffered damage because of potholes.
It was one of two posts about the same issue that went live on the Facebook group that day.
In 12 hours, the posts garnered 88 similar complaints.
Garnsey said that despite the complaints, he fears the situation will not change.
“Either way, I urge people to keep reporting the potholes and send in claims for damage.
“I think people have become apathetic because they think nothing will change … I think that the more of us who stand up the better,” he said.
Council has moved to address the recent increase in potholes and how it is responding to that.
It acknowledges that it has a responsibility to maintain the 2,200 kilometre road network across the region and fix potholes, remove fallen trees from roads and inspect and repair any other damage as quickly as possible during and following heavy rain.
In light of recent, extreme weather events, it issued a statement at the start of March saying, “Water entering and weakening the underlying road pavement and the added stress of traffic is the main cause of potholes, which is why we see more potholes after periods of heavy rain.”
It continued, “Our roads crews have been responding to a large increase in general service requests with the current weather pattern and Council has repaired 1,481 potholes since 24 February.
“During this emergency weather event, Council has formed an Emergency Incident Committee to collectedly address impacts and has liaised with Transport NSW around state road matters within our region.”
It is strongly encouraged that residents report any road defects, including potholes, to Council by contacting the Customer Service Centre on 1300 463 954 or by utilising the Customer Service online portal.
Nicola Riches