Tuesday 7 April 2009

Things I do...

I tend to walk a lot in my ward. I'm not sure whether a lot of Councillors do, but I think it's important because you pick up a lot of details on your way.

Some of the things I notice aren't really that exciting. They're problems with litter, cracks in the pavement, potholes, blocked drains and bricks that have come loose from a wall. I know that these things matter to people, and affect the way we feel about our communities. I take a photo if I can* and report the problem the appropriate department of the Council, often Land and Environmental Services. They fix what they can, and send me a reply, then I check that it's been done.

I don't know if people notice the difference, and there's certainly no sign to say Councillor Thewliss got that fixed for you. Trying to make things better is a big part of what I do, and I've put a few of the recent ones below. I hope they helped someone!

Bellgrove Street
I was doing my recycling here when I noticed there was no bin for people to put used poly bags in. Instead, people were stuffing them down the sides of the bins and they were getting loose and blowing about. I asked for a bin to be placed here so that people could dispose of their bags and other rubbish more easily.

Bridgeton Cross
I'd been out to meet with a group, and noticed the huge puddle outside the station. I reported the blocked drain to Land and Environmental Services, who investigated and cleared an obstruction from the outlet pipe to the main sewerage system. The gullies along London Road are also going to be checked.




Ogilvie Street/Canmore Street
I don't have a picture of this, but I noticed there was a lot of litter in the area. I've asked for it to be cleared up, and I hope this will be done in the next week or so.

Bluevale Street at Inglis Street
There's a persistent problem with fly tipping here; it's a real eyesore. I've asked Land and Environmental Services to clear it up and try harder to prevent it happening in future.

Duke Street down from John Wheatley College
There's a three consecutive street lights not working here, so I asked LES to get them fixed.

* I now have the most incredible selection of photos of potholes, graffiti and litter!

5 comments:

Mark McDonald said...

One of the reasons I have started making my blog more focused on the basic issues, is that I know exactly where you are coming from.

If I report an issue with a drain or a street light, chances are nobody will ever know it was me who reported it, but it was still important to do because the priority is to improve the quality of life for my constituents.

Calum Cashley said...

"I now have the most incredible selection of photos of potholes, graffiti and litter!"

Hmmmm, fundraising opportunity ...

Pat said...

Smart thinking on the bin for bags on Bellgrove street, Councillor!

Anonymous said...

Well done - keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

all these wee things make a difference, how about some litter bins though, and not the plastic ones that the weans set fire to and buzz the fumes from. it canny be that hard to get steel litter bins in the east end of glasgow. . . and while i'm on the subject, dog shit bins, i'm fed up walking about with a warm jobbie hanging from a plastic bag and have resorted to hanging them from the park gates.

wee weegie.x