Chicago neighbors repairing own potholes

[Gidney N Cloyd]

Meanwhile the Olympics selection committee is in town being wined and dined and probably bribed on a scale Utah could only dream about...

What to do when there are potholes on your street and the city won't pave them fast enough?

Patch them yourself.

That's what a West Side organization did today. Residents from the Austin neighborhood bought four bags of Quikrete from Home Depot for $50 and used shovels, rakes and a roller to fill about seven holes on the 4800 block of West Van Buren Street.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/04/austin-residents-fill-potholes-themselves.html

[KharmaTrain]

1. Now If That Pothole Were In River North...

Or the street of the local ward committeman. Wanna bet that street didn't see a snow plow all winter, too. It's still the rule in Chicago...be nice to your alderman.

This winter has been a killer on roads all over the place. Chicago and Illinois have never been too good on fixing roads...until someone wrecks an axle or blows a tire on it. The combination of rain and cold this past winter has been real bad...some of the worst potholes I've seen in a long time.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

4. Actually it seems like the past two winters were especially bad for the freeze-thaw-freeze thing.

Some roads last summer went unpatched right into this past winter.

[KharmaTrain]

5. Aging Infrastructure Is Also A Major Problem

Many of the Chicago streets were paved over around 100 years ago and many have only gotten a quick resurface, if any real maintenance at all. With so many miles of roads to cover, there's only so many patronage jobs to go around...especially in the poorer neighborhoods. Even here in suburbia, I see roads that are only 10 years old getting beaten up through all the use. With shrinking budgets, roads tend to get the short-shrift (except the tollway authority...but that's another sticky mess).

Cheers...

[republicansarewhores]

8. Question...

Can we bill Mayor Richie Capone for the work or deduct it from our taxes?

RAW

[KharmaTrain]

10. I've Known Of People Who've Collected...

A buddy once blew a tire on a pothole on a major state road. He had the presence of mind to go back and take a picture of the hole and then take it to his lawyer. The lawyer sued the city and they settled out. Just like if someone were to injur themselves on your property, hitting a pothole on a public road not only endangers the vehicle but also the driver who can lose control and do a lot more damage.

Hell, Richie can't be bothered with Streets & San...he's not running again until 2011. These people musta pissed off the alderman or ward boss.

[slampoet]

12. A comment on Rhode Island Potholes. "I want My Dog Back!!"

oops meant to reply to original post not yours. Sorry.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. If you want something done right..do it yourself!!!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Nah, if you want something done right, move to a more upscale neighborhood.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. LOL..or at least have politically potent neighbors.. :D

[ieoeja]

6. "hasn't received state funding since 2006"

And non-Illini DUers wondered why Illini DUers were so set against Blagojevich.


Aside from that, now THIS is activism I can get behind.

[SoCalDem]

9. My son called them "street scabs" (the repaired potholes)..n/t

[slampoet]

11. I'll start repairing the potholes around me with Circus Peanuts, Rubber Duckeys, and Kitty Litter

I bet it won't take long for the City to notice.