Pot hole complaints in London have tripled over the last 3 years

Public complaints about pot holes on London streets have tripled over the last three years, according to internal city data. 

CBC News obtained the data by request and it shows that calls for pot hole repairs to London's road repair hotline have tripled from 871 in 2016 to 2,534 last year.  

The record number of complaints comes during a year of construction-related grief for London drivers, as a combination of aging infrastructure, widespread roadwork and more people moving into the city have brought on a record number of complaints. 

"You could put a tire in it," said Muru Subramanoan, who noticed a large pot hole open up on Adelaide Street last month on the route he uses to drop off his kids every morning.

"It was there for a couple of days I think before it was repaired," he said.

London city crews armed with shovels and hot asphalt fan out around the city during the winter months to patrol and patch pot holes. While city staff don't record the number that open up on city streets each year, they do count the money spent to repair them, which is roughly $400,000 annually. 

It means there's no way to tell whether more pot holes are opening up in the streets, or if people are just complaining more. One thing is for sure though, out-of-towners seem to notice London's blacktop isn't as smooth as some other places. 

Carl Watral, who visits family and friends in London twice a year from Florida, said he noticed the quality of the roads isn't the same as it is back home. 

I still love London though, holes and all.- Carl Watral, visiting from Florida

"The streets look a little worse for wear here," he said. 

Still, Florida is hardly the pot hole capital of the world since it rarely gets snow. Everyone knows that pot holes are the nasty surprise winter leaves behind. 

"Of course it does, but that means you've got to fix it too and I think they collect enough taxes to do that, from what I've seen anyway," he said. "I still love London though, holes and all." 

Watral wasn't the only out-of-towner who noticed the rough ride on London streets, according to Darinka Rozman, who hails from Windsor. 

"Some of them are as big as a large rock and I find that's very common on London roads," she said. "That doesn't do well for my tires and wheel wells."

While pot holes can mean an expensive visit to the mechanic for drivers, they're even worse for cyclists who can fall because they lose their balance or worse, swerve into traffic.

Still, city staff point out that just because the number of complaints are up, that doesn't mean the number of pot holes are too, since there isn't necessarily a one-to-one ratio between calls for service and the number of holes in the street. 

Staff said it's likely a combination of more wear and tear on the roads from more people moving to the city, larger fluctuations in winter temperatures caused by climate change and the fact that the city is using social media to encourage people to report pot holes.