May 18, 2006
Note to District: Fix These Potholes
We've complained about potholes before. And though there are plenty of them around the city, it has been a particular set of potholes that have tested our patience day in and day out over the last two years.
Anyone who walks from the Foggy Bottom Metro station to Georgetown knows of them. There they are, a row of potholes along the southern edge of Pennsylvania Avenue, just beyond 24th Street. They start as mere dips in the road, stretching over roughly 15 feet and climaxing at a deep pothole sandwiched between two manhole covers. It's not the that they're blemishes in an otherwise well-maintained road that bothers us. It's that they are always filled the water. Always. And even worse, they are strategically located so that passing traffic and Metrobuses -- which stop at the corner of 24th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue -- invariably pass over and through them.
Experienced District walkers know to swerve away from the lip of the curve while passing the potholes. But those that know not of their presence of simply forget are often splashed with what is likely three-day-old standing water as a Metrobus pulls to the stop. Many a day has been ruined by these particular potholes.
So, District officials, can you send someone over ASAP to fill these potholes in? Why the rush, you ask? Because these potholes are necessarily making life harder for drivers -- they're making it harder for pedestrians, not to mention the poor cyclists who might unknowingly veer into them. We're looking forward to the day that our groggy morning walks to Georgetown are not rudely interrupted by having to jump clear of oncoming splashes from the depths of those potholes.
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I knew it was bad sign when I first moved to DC and heard traffic reports that referenced particular potholes as clearly well known landmarks.
First!!
The pothole situation in DC has gotten a lot better than it used to be. Does anyone remember the potholes from the 90s that would eat cars. It always seemed like the worst ones where up on new york ave before you got on 295. I lost a few tires to some of those.
tt, first of all (no pun intended), please don't start that "first!/frist!1!111!" crap here -- if you want to announce to the world that you scored as major an accomplishment as being the second guy to post a comment on a website, do it at AICN, where it belongs.
Secondly, NY Ave is better, but other parts of the city are much worse -- not only potholes, but steel plates that are so poorly placed that they'll eat your oil pan and driveshaft... Adam's Morgan, I'm looking in your direction.
My most despised road surface is Kenilworth Avenue just north of Eastern Avenue. The bridge that crosses the railroad tracks is in absolutely terrible condition. It's been patched more times than Michael Jackson's nose *bada bing*. And it doesn't look too structurally sound, either; The 'sidewalk' is completely buckled and wavy. One of these days a heavily-laden semi will go crashing down onto an Amtrack train.
My conspiracy theory is that neither DC nor Maryland want to take responsibility for the short stretch of road between US-50 and Eastern Avenue. That piece of highway is tecnically in Maryland, but only runs for about a quarter-mile between the DC line and the B/W Parkway, which is managed by the NPS.
Have you bothered to report it to 2/727.1000??? It helps if you can give an house address.
maybe if there was a commuter tax DC could put more money into fixing the roads.....
I hit these unknowingly on my bike a couple months ago. I almost died.
Well, not really. But my life DID flash before my eyes. Furthermore, it made me poop my shorts.
I hit these unknowingly on my bike a couple months ago. I almost died.
Well, not really. But my life DID flash before my eyes. Furthermore, it made me poop my shorts.
I hit these unknowingly on my bike a couple months ago. I almost died.
Well, not really. But my life DID flash before my eyes. Furthermore, it made me poop my shorts.
Wow man dont take these forums too seriously, i was trying to add some levity, geezus. And actaully I was
SECOND!!
Anyway your right NY ave is much much better, and there are some places where pot holes are still a problem no doubt. I was fighing a few on michgain ave for a few months this year. damn potholes.
However the number of potholes has diminished IMO. Do you remember during the barry adminstration(s) they would basiclly not fix any potholes all winter. Some streets where bascilly mine fields.
I am a commenting moron. Sorry.
Ryan , i second your comments. Whether or not you agree with a commuter tax at least we should be able to vote on it. :)
However do remember that just because DC has the money, does not mean they will use it correctly. Look the dc school system, they have a lot more money than other school systems yet they still have some major problems.
Foxhall, please dig up and replace the whole road. Honestly, there are too many BMW's and Mercedes at risk.
You can report potholes online - and, yes they actually fix them (most of the time)
http://ddot.dc.gov/ddot/cwp/view,a,1253,q,564042.asp
Go to the Service Request Center.
I was in NYC for Bike New York a couple of weekends ago, and I was shocked, amazed, and appalled that NEW YORK for chrissakes! has better paved roads than DC.
you can also report pretty much anything online at www.dc.gov/requests. if you complete a registration, you can get a tracking # as well so you can check on the progress of the request. dc gov't often doesn't have the manpower to know about everything that goes wrong (street lights out, new/old potholes) so they rely on this system, as well as 727-1000, to make "to do" lists.
tt:
i hear you. at the same time if commuter tax funds just went to infrastructure i dont think there would be that much mismanagement, if any at all. managing an efficient, well run school system seems a lot harder to put together to me than good roads (if properly funded). then again this city never ceases to amaze me.
Ryan, construction (especially road construction) is often some of the most mismanaged and wasted expenditures that this city has. I once saw the same 400 yards of road get torn up and repaved four times within the course of 18 months.
And besides, the likelihood that this city would spend the taxes of non-residents smarter than those of residents is ridiculous. There's a moral hazard in spending tax dollars of non-residents because that would always be viewed as free money, ready to be tapped with no ballot-box ramifications.
And I've said it before: any extra money that would come from commuters would come out of the federal payments we receive. It would be a zero sum game. Actually, it would be worse, since there would be less money flowing through the DC economy.
I propose a test for the DC government: why don't they just lower the salary of every non-DC resident who works for the DC government by the difference between their MD or VA tax loads and what it would be in DC. Then the DC government would get a quick lesson in what a burden they'd be putting on DC businesses if all of the sudden VA and MD resident's got their salaries cut.
LAST!
Have you bothered to report it to 2/727.1000???
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I reported both to the phone number and the website some potholes on my street. They actually told me in both cases that the potholes had been repaired already. They actually were fighting me that their system knew better than someone who had walked past them that morning - I actually got the phone operator to say this.
Me: I am calling to report potholes (described location).
Her: (typing) Ok....one moment. Yes, ok, those potholes have been repaired.
Me: Oh really, someone came out today? Thank you.
Her: No, they were fixed three months ago.
Me: Yes, they CAME to fix them three months ago, and poured some blacktop. But I can assure you that the potholes remain. I drove over them last night, and everyone has to stop before driving over them as if they were a speed bump.
Her: Well, I am showing them as fixed sir.
Me: So you are saying your computer knows more than my eyes?
Her: Yes.
Me: Dial tone.
And since, they have added metal plates to the block, so I guess she showed me.
What would DC do without the Capital, interns, or potholes? It's like complaining that NJ smells like trash.
What would DC do without the Capital, interns, or potholes? It's like complaining that NJ smells like trash.
Meg - NJ will come down here and drill it into your head that it's spelled "Capitol" if you don't watch it.
i'll take potholes over constant construction! and DC crews fix a road faster than anyone... yeah. DC rocks.
i know this stretch of road and this problem from my days as spokesperson for the district dept. of transportation and as a regular bicyclist. the apparent water main leak is the problem that must be fixed for the road to be permanently repaired (as illustrated) which is the responsiblity of the dc water and sewer authority (wasa).
to get this fixed, i am referring this posting to my successor ddot spokesperson, erik linden, erik.linden@dc.gov, to cooordinate with wasa.
i know this stretch of road and this problem from my days as spokesperson for the district dept. of transportation and as a regular bicyclist. the apparent water main leak is the problem that must be fixed for the road to be permanently repaired (as illustrated) which is the responsiblity of the dc water and sewer authority (wasa).
to get this fixed, i am referring this posting to my successor ddot spokesperson, erik linden, erik.linden@dc.gov, to cooordinate with wasa.
There's a pothole on the outer edge of Dupont Circle (right on the crosswalk) as you go North on New Hampshire Ave.
Its been there for 2 years, and I used to get my foot caught in it weekly when that was my commute--sometimes these things seem magnetic. Come on, it's in the damn crosswalk!
Mr. Austermuhle,
Pot holes are everywhere, but when I saw that this site was being offered, the street that I thought of immediately was Bennings Road NE between Bladensburg Rd and Minnesota Ave. Every time I drive on that road, it makes me think I am having epileptic convulsions. I have worked in the city for two years, and it is really embarrassing that we allow the roads to look/FEEL that way. I definitely understand that the schools need money, in fact I am a school teacher myself. However, the way our streets look can determine the pride that our students take in their surroundings. The ways our streets look may also determine the pride we take in the people who live in that area. If that is the case do we have pride in the people who live, work, and learn near Bennings Road?
Mr. Austermuhle,
Potholes are everywhere, but when I saw that this site was being offered, the street that I thought of immediately was Bennings Road NE between Bladensburg Rd and Minnesota Ave. Every time I drive on that road, it makes me think I am having epileptic convulsions. I have worked in the city for two years, and it is really embarrassing that we allow the roads to look/FEEL that way. I definitely understand that the schools need money, in fact I am a school teacher myself. However, the way our streets look can determine the pride that our students take in their surroundings. The ways our streets look may also determine the pride we take in the people who live in that area. If that is the case do we have pride in the people who live, work, and learn near Bennings Road?