c/pothole-patrol

My little victory after 3 months of calling the city

There's this crater on Maple Street near the 7-Eleven that's been eating car tires for a year. I tried the standard report a pothole line and nothing happened. Then I read somewhere to email your city council member directly with photos and the exact GPS coordinates. I did that 2 weeks ago and yesterday they actually patched it. Has anyone else had better luck going straight to the council instead of the city works department?

Almost lost a wheel to the sinkhole on 5th and Main last night

I was driving home around 11pm and hit that monster pothole near the old gas station on 5th and Main. It's basically a crater now, probably 8 inches deep and full of water so you can't even see it. My front tire bent the rim and I had to pull over and swap to a spare in the rain. Has anyone else reported this thing to the city or is it just me?

The intersection of Elm and 5th went from a crater to smooth in 3 days flat

I saw it with my own eyes, the pothole at Elm and 5th was like a moon crater, probably 6 inches deep and wide enough to swallow a bike tire whole. I filed a report with the city about it back in February, but nothing happened for weeks. Then out of nowhere, last Tuesday a crew showed up and patched it up in like 3 hours. I think what did it was someone from the local news station did a story on it, because I saw a news van there the day before. Now I'm kind of curious if that's the secret weapon, getting the media involved. Has anyone else had luck getting a local news station to highlight a bad pothole before the city finally fixes it?

TIL my city's pothole app actually works if you take a photo with a quarter next to it

So I hit this crater on 5th Street near the old gas station last Wednesday. Bent my rim so bad I had to swap the spare on the side of the road in the rain. I took a photo with a quarter sitting right next to the hole to show the depth. My buddy at the shop told me the city's app just ignores you without a size reference. I filed the claim with that photo and forgot about it. THREE DAYS later a crew came out and patched it. I was SHOCKED. Has anyone else had luck getting the city to respond after sending a picture with a coin or ruler in the shot?

Tried filing a claim on the city app for a pothole that ate my tire

Three weeks later they emailed back saying the pothole wasn't on their list and I should have called 311 instead, anyone else get the runaround like that?

I finally looked up the actual cost of pothole damage to cars in the US last year

Found a report from AAA that said pothole damage costs drivers around $3 billion a year nationwide, and that number honestly made me stop and think about how many of those claims start with just one bad hit on a street like Elm Street here in town, has anyone here ever actually filed a claim with the city and gotten paid out?

Serious question, did anyone else see what our tax dollars actually go to?

I was digging through the city's public works budget online last night and found out they spend over $400,000 a year just on temporary patch materials for potholes. That's a ton of money for stuff that washes out after two rainstorms. Why aren't they just repaving the worst streets instead of throwing cash at quick fixes that don't stick?

Found out my city spends more on filling potholes than on fixing sidewalks. Read it in the annual budget report from last fall.

That one week in March where every pothole on Maple Street somehow got filled in two days

I drove to school all five days without hitting a single one and honestly it felt like the universe was playing a prank on me because now three of them are already back after last week's rain.

Just realized I'd been reporting potholes to the wrong department for a whole year

I kept filing complaints about this crater on Elm Street near the gas station, and nothing ever happened. Then my buddy who works for the county told me I was sending them to the city water department instead of public works. The phone number I had was for a completely different office the whole time. Anybody else find out they've been barking up the wrong tree with their pothole reports?

PSA: That city hotline number for potholes is a total dead end

Someone in my building's Facebook group said to call the city's 311 line for pothole reports, so I tried it 3 times last week for a crater on Elm Street near the gas station. Each time they said it was logged, but nothing happened for 6 days. I finally found out from a guy at the hardware store that you gotta email the public works supervisor directly with photos. He got his pothole fixed in 48 hours that way. Has anyone else had the 311 route totally fail like this?

I used to think complaining to the city was useless... until last Thursday

I always figured filing reports for potholes was a waste of time, but after hitting that crater on Elm Street and messing up my alignment, I tried the city's 311 app on a dare. They patched it in less than 48 hours, and I couldn't believe my eyes. The real kicker was my neighbor saying he'd been reporting the same hole for six months with no luck, so maybe I just got lucky. What's the secret trick to getting the city to actually show up?

Just found the exact form code that got my pothole filled in 4 days

I submitted a 311 request for that crater on Oak Street three times with no results, but after I added 'vehicle damage hazard' in the subject line and attached a photo with a ruler in it, they patched it within 4 days has anyone else tried this.

Unpopular take: That sinkhole on Maple Street is not the worst pothole in town

I keep hearing everyone complain about the Maple Street sinkhole near the gas station. But I measured that thing last week and it's only 4 inches deep and 2 feet wide. Meanwhile, the pothole on Third Avenue by the old laundromat is a solid 8 inches deep and swallows my front tire every time. I reported that one 6 months ago and nothing happened. The city patched Maple Street twice but ignored Third Ave completely. Has anyone else noticed the city picks and chooses which holes to fix based on how many cars drive by?

My front tire got swallowed by the Maple Street crater last Tuesday

I mean, I've been dodging that pothole on Maple Street for months now, but Tuesday morning I was running late and totally forgot. Hit it going about 25 mph and my whole car just lurched. I pulled over and my front driver side tire had this big bubble on the sidewall. Had to call my buddy to come help me swap on the spare in the rain. Took it to the tire shop and they said the rim was bent too, cost me $180 to get a used rim and a new tire. I finally filed a claim with the city's website, but I'm not holding my breath. Has anyone here actually had success getting a city to pay for damage from a pothole?

Appreciation post: Finally got the city to fix the crater on Maple Ave after 14 months

I submitted that pothole near the bus stop on Maple Ave about 14 months ago, and after 4 follow ups and a picture of a sedan's busted axle, they finally patched it last Tuesday. Feels like a small victory but it saved my neighbor from having to replace another tire. Anyone else had a surprise win like this after bugging the city forever?