How to Report Street Potholes to Your Local Government in 2023

Potholes are an unfortunate feature of New York City streets. If you have been injured by one, and need compensation for damages caused, you may be asking whether there are legal avenues open to you for reparations.

Potholes are an unfortunate reality of driving in New York, often causing severe damage to vehicles such as broken axles and flat tires or rims.

Reporting a Pothole

Potholes are surface-level disruptions caused by water or other external influences that disrupt road surfaces and create dangerous walking conditions, potentially damaging vehicles, creating unsafe walking conditions for pedestrians, and generally making life more challenging for all road users. Residents in New York City have various ways they can report potholes or other street issues to authorities.

Report a pothole directly by calling 311. Alternatively, there is also an online form you can fill out that allows you to report them and track their status.

Once reported, fixing a pothole can take time for the city. While its repair depends on weather and other factors, street maintenance crews work quickly to fix them as soon as they've been identified.

As soon as you submit a report, its street location will be added to an interactive map and refreshed each night to show all current requests and their status. To use it effectively, type your approximate location - including route number and town name, if available - into the search field, followed by dragging a teardrop-shaped pointer towards any potholes or maintenance issues you want to report.

Bicyclists are particularly at risk from pothole damage, with collisions often leading to punctured tires or bent rims that cost time and money to fix or worsen safety concerns. Aside from inconvenience and cost implications, biking risks pose real safety issues that must be considered; falls can have disastrous results: serious injuries and fatalities have occurred as riders attempted to avoid potholes by trying to maneuver safely around them.

Potholes in New York are frequently reported by vehicle owners hoping for reimbursement of repair costs related to pothole damage, but it can be challenging proving it was responsible. Also note that reimbursement from the city only occurs if they knew about it beforehand.

Though the city does an excellent job of monitoring its streets, potholes still sometimes form quickly in certain locations due to limited street maintenance crew coverage in winter months when temperatures fluctuate rapidly and cause asphalt pavements to expand and contract, eventually creating potholes.

Filling Out the Report

As temperatures decrease and rain falls more often during winter, street pavement can crack and break from snow, ice, and prolonged rainfall. Rain water seeping beneath the surface causes material beneath to erode away leaving holes; heavy traffic further compounds this issue by constantly impacting on roadway surfaces leaving potholes appear seemingly overnight.

Staten Island residents can report potholes through three methods - 311; their council member;s office or the borough president's. The Department of Transportation (DOT) works tirelessly to repair roads, and Staten Island has an obligation under law to fix potholes within 15 days after being informed about them.

As soon as a pothole is reported, city officials must perform a risk evaluation to assess whether immediate repairs are required. Depending on its risk level and type of road (i.e. county routes or those with high traffic volumes are usually given priority for repair).

When filing a pothole report, be sure to provide as much detail as possible. This includes providing the exact location, date and time you encountered the pothole as well as any vehicle damage it caused. Taking photos or videos of the pothole as well as receiving repair estimates from at least two mechanics can also be very helpful - this documentation may come in handy should you seek reimbursement from your city for your vehicular damages.

Contacting Your Local Government

Potholes are holes in the road caused by either water damage to pavement, or by vehicles driving over it over time. Potholes form from either winter weather freeze-thaw cycles or from vehicles repeatedly using it as roadway.

The City of Orlando takes complaints about potholes very seriously and responds swiftly. To report one, use their "Report a Concern" feature online; be sure to provide as much detail as possible regarding its location and any photos if possible.

If you want to file a claim due to pothole damage, keep in mind that the City only reimburses damage to the outer body of your car; such as tires, rims and undercarriage. Potholes tend to be easier for claimants to demonstrate as the source of vehicle damage than other factors like collision with another vehicle or hitting construction barrels.

Drivers can report potholes directly by calling 311. Additionally, motorists can gain more information about the City's repair process by calling 311. Their goal is to address high traffic volume streets within 72 hours while lower volume roads should be addressed within 48 to 72 hours. They have established a priority list that looks at factors such as impeding traffic flow or creating hazardous situations for pedestrians and motorists.

Drivers can contact their county highway maintenance department to report potholes on state highways. WisDOT collaborates with these county departments in repairing potholes. When reporting potholes on county highways, always keep Wisconsin's Move Over Law in mind when approaching highway maintenance vehicles. This law requires motorists to slow down, move over if possible and give extra space for these maintenance vehicles to do their work. Protect workers and avoid accidents on the job with increased visibility of work areas, especially interstate highways where drivers may be traveling at higher speeds. Also keep an eye out for road closures and detours in your area to help avoid traffic congestion and delays for commuters.

Contacting the DOT

The City of New York maintains roadways, sidewalks and storm drains throughout all five boroughs. If you encounter potholes or any other defects on roadways in any way, call 311 or submit a problem through SeeClickFix (a free download available in app stores) within 15 days or face the possibility of vehicle damage from defects caused by inadequate response from them.

The Department of Transportation relies heavily on pothole reports to address their destabilizing and potentially destructive road hazards. Their Street Maintenance Section strives to repair them within one business day of being informed (weather permitting).

As part of their response to complaints, the Department of Transportation conducts periodic reviews of all roadway locations to identify those that require pothole patching or, in more serious instances, work orders for further intensive repair treatments.

Staten Island residents take the brunt of pothole damage. Staten Island roadways account for more pothole service requests than any other borough by nearly two times; many pothole locations reopen shortly after initial fixes are completed, creating additional service requests in their wake.

If your vehicle was damaged due to colliding with a pothole, you can file a claim through the Comptroller's office to be reimbursed by New York. In order to do this, provide personal details as well as specifics about what occurred, including date, time, location and contributing factors. Alternatively, use their online eClaim system.

If you prefer speaking directly with customer service representative, contact the DOT's Information Center at (518) 222-NYC (5822). Alternatively, visit one of the three SDOT neighborhood offices or your local council member or borough president's office - to locate which office nearest to you use their website - or emailing the DOT. Please be aware that they do not repair private property such as driveways or parking lots.