on the Pothole Ride last year.
(Photo: Heather Andews)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation just issued their latest press release about the big winter storm. This time, the focus is on potholes.
PBOT is urging residents to report potholes* because the “heavy snowfall caused treacherous conditions for motorists…” (Hey wait, don’t potholes pose an equally, and even more severe potential hazard to cyclists?).
The press release goes on to describe the reason for the potholes; “a combination of heavy snow and rain, freezing and expanding of moisture under pavement, and thawing…”.
“On Monday we received two dozen calls to our Pothole Hotline. On Wednesday we received five dozen calls.”
— Mayor Sam Adams
They’re forgetting one other contributing factor: motor vehicle snow chains and studded traction tires (don’t get me started).
In the statement, Mayor Sam Adams said that filling the tire-popping, rim-wrenching, and bone-rattling potholes is “an ongoing battle.” Adams added that, “On Monday we received two dozen calls to our Pothole Hotline. On Wednesday we received five dozen calls.”
The City says “patch crews are rolling,” and they urge folks to call the Pothole Hotline at (503) 823-BUMP (2867). Response time is usually within 48 hours.
Last year about this time, a community effort in the form of a Pothole Bike Ride sought to identify and then report potholes. Led by Daniel Johnson, the effort paid off as several of the potholes they found were soon filled by City maintenance crews.
According to Mayor Adams in this morning’s press release,
“Any time is the right time to call in your request for a pothole repair.” He also encourages motorists to pay attention to road conditions and drive safely.
I think they meant to write, “He also encourages everyone to pay attention…”
[*Note: PBOT will only heed your pothole filling request if the road is under their jurisdiction. See the full press release for details on where to call for roads not managed by PBOT.]