Melting snow brings potholes and flood of complaints
It’s a sure sign of spring; potholes have begun popping up on Calgary streets.
And in the case of Auburn Bay, a big one has the neighbourhood abuzz.
“It took out a Cadillac, my neighbours’ small truck and two other vehicles that were driving up the street that got stuck,” said Beckie Holden, who has seen four vehicles fall victim to the pothole on Auburn Meadows Place S.E.
“I’m pretty sure the Cadillac got its front end beat in,” she said. “The truck was there for an hour. It took all of the neighbourhood to push it.”
But Holden said neighbourhood calls to the City of Calgary about the potholes have proven fruitless.
In the years she has lived in the community, Holden said she’s never seen her road get this bad.
“I’m not able to leave my house; I’ve been in here for, like, three days,” said Holden. “As for my car parked in my garage, I can’t take it out. I basically can’t drive my own vehicles.”
One resident expressed concern about road conditions in an Auburn Bay Facebook group, asking if anyone has a blow torch or a flame thrower to help “blast a clearing through the mountain of snow and ice.”
Tara Norton-Merrin, a spokeswoman for the city’s roads department, said city staff have fielded 1,450 pothole calls to its 311 number since Jan. 1. However, they’re unable to deal with these road problems until the pothole program kicks off in April. This is because many of the workers who fix potholes also have snow and ice control duties.
“We expect there to be quite a few (potholes) this year because of how cold the winter has been and how much snow we have got,” she said.
“It wreaked havoc on the roads and, unfortunately, it does create these potholes. The majority of our crews are still working on snow and ice control and assisting water with catch basins. Right now, we are not responding to pothole requests unless they are on a major roadway or are a significant safety concern.”
Norton-Merrin suggested residents send photos along with their complaints.
“A lot of the time when people report a pothole we are thinking of a small, manageable pothole that people can easily can drive around,” she said. “However, if it is something a little more significant or seen as a safety issue, it’s really important to get that across so it can be raised in the priority level.”
Norton-Merrin said the number of 311 calls received about potholes is “in line with the amount we had this time last year.” The difference, however, is that at this time last year, residential roads were already free of snow and ice.
According to the City of Calgary website, the city inspects major roads twice a month and collector roads once per month, while relying on citizens and city crews to report concerns in residential areas.
An online reporting tool can be found on the city website, where residents can file a complaint about potholes or other road issues.