Posted on 04/10/2009 1:00:17 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Do you have gaping potholes on your street and feel the city is not fixing them quickly enough? How about patching them yourself?
That's what a group of residents on Chicago's West Side did Wednesday. Members of the South Austin Coalition bought eight bags of a pavement mix for about $100 and used shovels, rakes and a 250-pound push roller to fill 15 holes on the 4800 block of West Van Buren Street.
"The city's not doing it, so residents need to take the matter into their own hands," said Elce Redmond, an organizer with the coalition.
The group's members hope their efforts will shame the city into repairing neighborhood side streets and inspire other residents to band together and patch their own blocks. They also hope residents will create a citywide Pothole Repair Day.
City officials don't think that's a good idea.
For starters, it's not safe for people to work in the street without taking safety measures like putting up orange cones to warn traffic, said Brian Steele, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation. Secondly, city crews are trained in the art of filling potholes—cleaning them out, pouring in the asphalt mix, making it compact and then rolling the patch with mechanical rollers, not the kind you can push.
The driveway mixture the group used in this case may have only cost a little more than $10 for a 50-pound bag, but the city says the $100-per-ton of high performance cold patch it purchases is worth it.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Instead of sitting around waiting for the gubmint to do something for you... get out there and do it yourself.
That's the American way.
Then sue the bastids for your time and money.
(That's the American way, too!)
Either these were the rare Republicans that must live in Chicago, or these folks are on their way to becoming Republicans. Democrats would still be waiting for the city to fix the potholes. There is hope for Chicago, one pothole at a time!
The DIY pothole-filler didn’t have the one necessary ingredient: a kickback to the Daley Family.
Gee. I wonder why these folks didn't call their Community Organizer?
Good for them. I wonder if one of them did the work while the others stood leaning on their shovels. I hope they don’t get arrested for some stupid offense, such as littering or patching without a union card.
Sub-headline in article say, “Austin residents buy some concrete mix and plug holes in the road
The headline writer needs to get the story straight. And, go back to grammar school for “West Sider’s.”
Chicagos newspaper’s dont seem to have any idea when to use an apostrophe and when not to.
With that line of thinking and a volunteer armed forces, WHO needs these 535 Socialist Punks on Capitol Hill?
Here's an update for your files:
Filling potholes is above his pay grade too, but I’d rather him doing that than where he is now.
I like it, too!
We the people are always “shovel ready”. The Socialist creeps in government are always ready to shovel BS.
And then get arrested for taking work away from the union loafers.
Ever wonder why "the $100-per-ton of high performance cold patch" costs so much... :)
You got that right.
“Where are the under-the table kick-backs from the homeowners to the city politicians?”
“Where’s the graft to and from the politicians and the asphalt companies”?
“Wheres the payola from the contractors who are in bed with the politicians before even one hole can be filled”?
You’re right. “They ain’t doin’ it right”
Cuz he’s organizin’ in DC.
Look. Here's another good one.
Once Obama left, the folks finally got organized.
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