Mayor, Dept. of Public Works Initiate "Operation Pothole" Campaign
a call for help from the community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 14, 2005)—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with members of the Department of Public Works' Board and Bureau of Street Services, have initiated a 14-week weekend campaign to fill 35,000 potholes throughout the City. The 35,000 potholes that will be repaired on the weekends will be in addition to those filled during the week by regular City street crews.

Beginning Sept. 24-25 and continuing every other weekend thereafter until December 17-18, the Bureau of Street Services will provide 50 trucks and crews to blanket specific areas of the City and repair all identified potholes that have been reported by the community.

The program will kick off in South Los Angeles on Sept. 24-25 with the area being canvassed for potholes by the community during the previous two weeks.

From there, the crews will trek to the North Valley on Oct. 8-9, followed by the South Valley on Oct. 22-23.  After filling potholes in those areas, work will then get underway in East Los Angeles on Nov. 5-6, followed by Central Los Angeles on Nov. 19-20, the Harbor area on Dec. 3-4 and West Los Angeles on Dec. 17-18.

"This extra effort is being undertaken to improve the condition of our neighborhoods and streets to the greatest extent possible," explained Mayor Villaraigosa.

"However, " the Mayor added, "to make this undertaking the success it can be, we need the communities' assistance."

The Mayor urged residents to assist by dialing 3-1-1 and reporting any potholes they see. "They don't have to be on your street," Villaraigosa said. "If you see one, anywhere, just call and report the location. It only takes a few minutes and the end result is terrific."

By dialing 3-1-1, Angelenos gain access to more than 1,500 non-emergency City services. Calls are answered 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The services are provided in English, Spanish and 150 other languages, as well as to the hearing or speech impaired.

Mayor Villaraigosa commented that the Bureau of Street Services has a minimal amount of crews for this type of work and needs greater input from the public "to achieve the high level of pothole repair we are striving for."

"Although we realize it's almost impossible to achieve a zero percent pothole repair rate, we do need the public to assist us more in locating these nuisances before they degrade our streets further and become problems that can only be remedied by resurfacing," said Cynthia M. Ruiz, president of the Board of Public Works.

To illustrate her point, Commissioner Ruiz noted that during the rainstorms earlier this year, the Bureau of Street Services filled more than 40,000 potholes, and only 16,000 were located as a result of calls from the public. City street crews found the remainder of the potholes.

Bill Robertson, director of the Bureau of Street Services, said, "This new weekend pothole campaign will be undertaken in addition to the regular pothole repair that is done during the week throughout the City, and it will be achieved within our existing budget."

Robertson expects his street crews to repair 5,000 to 8,000 potholes each weekend, adding,  "these numbers can only be achieved by the public becoming actively involved by calling 3-1-1 and reporting any potholes they may see."

"The Bureau of Street Services is responsible for maintaining more than 6,500 miles of streets within the city—the largest municipal street system in the nation," Mayor Villaraigosa said, "and they have been doing a great job. We just want to try to do even better."A pothole is defined as a hole in the street with its bottom shaped like the bottom of a pot (rounded). When a vehicle drives over a pothole the driver may experience trouble with steering and damage may occur to the vehicle's tires and suspension. To learn more about pothole, residents may visit the Bureau of Street Services web site at http://www.lacity.org/BOSS/Resurfacing/potholes.htm.

The five-member Board of Public Works serves jointly as general manager of the Department of Public Works, the City's third largest municipal agency. The Department of Public Works is responsible for construction, renovation and operation of public facilities and infrastructure ranging from curbside collection and graffiti removal to maintenance of sidewalks, bridges, sewers and streetlights, maintenance of wastewater treatment plants and design of public buildings.

Contact:

MARSHALL LOWE
Public Information Officer
(213) 978-0330
E-mail: mlowe@bpw.lacity.org