Posted on 09/15/2005 1:20:13 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Targeting what many Southlanders consider the ultimate urban blight, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced plans Wednesday for a 14-week effort to repair an estimated 35,000 potholes citywide.
Following through on one of his campaign vows, Villaraigosa said "Operation Pothole" would include 50 trucks with two-person crews working in selected areas on weekends starting Sept. 24.
The $400,000 effort is in addition to a regular pothole-repair program operated during the weekend. Money for the program will come out of the department's overtime fund, Saucedo said.
"This extra effort is being undertaken to improve the condition of our neighborhoods and streets," Villaraigosa said in a statement. "However, to make this a success, we will need the communities' assistance."
Potholes - and complaints about the time it takes for the city to repair them - became an issue during Villaraigosa's successful campaign against former Mayor James Hahn this year. As part of his campaign promises, Villaraigosa pledged to step up city efforts to make the repairs a priority.
Nazario Saucedo, assistant chief of the Bureau of Street Services, said the 35,000 potholes include many that remain unfilled after near-record rainfall last winter.
"It's a serious problem for our drivers, and we want to make the repairs as soon as we can to avoid further damage to the streets," Saucedo said.
Each year, the department spends about $7 million to repair 200,000 to 250,000 potholes across the city, Saucedo said.
Special crews will begin work in South Los Angeles the weekend of Sept. 24, head to the north San Fernando Valley on the weekend of Oct. 8 and hit the South Valley on Oct. 22.
Crews will be canvassing the areas to find potholes, but Villaraigosa also is asking the public to call the city's 3-1-1 information line to report potholes.
"Although we realize it's almost impossible to achieve a zero-percent pothole-repair rate, we do need the public to assist us in locating these nuisances before they degrade our streets that can be fixed only with resurfacing," said Cynthia Ruiz, president of the Board of Public Works.
He should come up north (and east) to my neck of the woods and fix our potholes. Heck, we have potholes on the sidewalks here. :)
I am sure Villaracista has smoked his fair share of pot.
Of course, Operation Pot Hole has been put forward by every mayor since Tom Bradley was running the 440 at UCLA.
If Antonio sticks to fixing potholes and traffic, and away from interest group pandering, he'll be a very popular mayor.
We'd had a huge sinkhole at the end of our street for six months, and the city workers did nothing about it but drop off a couple of gnome hats. Then, the day after the last election, they showed up and filled the sucker in with asphalt. I said to my wife (half in jest), "Man, Antonio's really hitting the ground running."
A stepping (hole)stone for the Governors seat
Isn' a pothole when the joints cherry burns a hole in the rug?
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