In this episode of The Pothole Chronicles, you will learn whether the lowly potholes get ignored, pointed out, wait-listed, or emergency treatment.

Poor road conditions are a fact of life in Oaktown.  We know there aren’t sufficient Public Works resources to maintain the city thoroughfares, and certain stretches of the city get roundly ignored.

In Montclair, the roads regularly suffer due to rain, mud, stream culverts and shifting sands known as the Hayward Fault.  The arrival of potholes is a seasonal thing, and generally the biggest and baddest bullies get filled at some point.

With very-real budget cuts, neighbors are erupting over this year’s potholes lately.  There’s no true consensus on the Montclair SIC chat board, but the discussion’s lively and worth quoting:

Do It Yourself: Here is what I did! I found some dirt on the hill plus a few decent sized rocks and filled up the pot hole. The weight of the cars going over the hole have compacted the rocks and dirt and wahlaw, no more car damage!  In the one near my home, I filled it with some left over granite pieces from an art project.

Wait For Sunny Skies: The Call Center has been advising the public that the Agency is currently funded for pot hole repair only and that this service  will begin as soon as the weather conditions change (spring, summer & fall – pot hole blitz in addition to routine maintenance) .

Get ‘Em Marked: If we are going to appropriately wait until the weather conditions are good for asphalting, then the crews should be sent out right now to mark the big pot holes with orange paint.

Ask Council Rep For Help: Jean – If there’s anything you can do to get Telegraph Ave repaved between 45th and 55th St and the 2000 block of Mountain Blvd. in Montclair repaved (near Pet Food Express/Union 76), it would be appreciated. There are a lot of streets in Oakland that are extremely bumpy and these are just a few.  Thank you.

Give A Shout Out: Just a note to say thanks for all the noise about potholes.  I was coming up Mtn. to Ascot at 1:30 pm and the crew was out filling some of the HOLES.  So, thanks to all of you and to the crews!

Act Cynical, Always: We should all light our candles and do our part.  And stop cursing the dark.  I guess we get what we get and shouldn’t speak up or become frustrated.  I’m going to light my candle tonight and in the morning go out and spray paint all the pot holes pink, then [Do It Yourself] can go fill them in with granite.

Near my home, there’s a big hole with a lovely orange spray-painted marking.  Everyone slows down and passes by gingerly.  We all think that Public Works will make it there sometime, and ultimately fill the worst gashes.  Hang tight.