Pothole "blitz" (Pittsburgh, Troy: 2015, vehicle registration, to buy)

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by Pghuser

Our city roads are a disaster, pure and simple. I'm not even sure how or why the city allows cars to travel Brookline Blvd at this point.

Did Brookline/Beechview ever get touched? I was over there Saturday and it was a disaster far worse than any road I've encountered in the east end. I suspect they will get to the southern/western neighborhoods once every road, lane, and alley in the east end has been completed.

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by zman63

Money seems to be the motivating factor. Unfortunately, the city is broke...

Years of neglect create potholes aplenty in Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Reading that you realize that the amounts of money are so small to do things right that it's nothing short of leadership negligence, bordering on criminal.

I would rather you tax me another $20 per year than extract the probably $500 pound of flesh that's been taken from me to put two new tires and a rim on my brand new car in the last two months. As it stands right now I'm paying a victim tax.

And nobody even talks about the psychological toll of how stressful it is to drive under these circumstances.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Girl.In.The.Woods

Reading that you realize that the amounts of money are so small to do things right that it's nothing short of leadership negligence, bordering on criminal.

I would rather you tax me another $20 per year than extract the probably $500 pound of flesh that's been taken from me to put two new tires and a rim on my brand new car in the last two months. As it stands right now I'm paying a victim tax.

And nobody even talks about the psychological toll of how stressful it is to drive under these circumstances.

^ This. We'll be laughed at---again---for actually hitting a pothole while these "expert drivers" have "never hit one", but after spending $700 myself in January to fix pothole damage I'd also much rather everyone in the city cough up $20 more per year to have the roads in halfway decent shape rather than having so many people out hundreds of dollars at a clip with no option for recovery!

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

^ This. We'll be laughed at---again---for actually hitting a pothole while these "expert drivers" have "never hit one", but after spending $700 myself in January to fix pothole damage I'd also much rather everyone in the city cough up $20 more per year to have the roads in halfway decent shape rather than having so many people out hundreds of dollars at a clip with no option for recovery!

Yes, I agree. When I visit there the roads are pretty bad. Can't the city residents just have their taxes raised a little, so we can navigate around a little better?

[sealie]

I think the solution is to lure more yuppies into the city. Increase the average household income, increase the average home price, then you've got some kind of tax base to work with. Sure, that means SCR won't be able to afford a house, but figure the road repair budget needs another $8M or so, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

[PghYinzer]

How is a lack of funds negligence? I would say spending money you don't have is negligence. In this case the city doesn't have it, so they can't/don't spend it.

(Insert my standard, slow down, anti-EE rant here)

As for Brookline Blvd, it has been "fixed"...they brought in street cleaners to clean up the debris that had crept out of the potholes and patched them to the best of their ability....The Blvd is in such bad shape this winter, because it hasnt been touched for a few years because it was supposed to be milled and repaved last fall, but they ran out of time. There is also the problem of the cobblestone and trolly tracks underneath...I believe they are removing the tracks when they redo it this spring...

[Geeo]

I think if enough people want a special assessment specifically targeted for street paving and repair, they may be able to follow the Carnegie Library model and get enough signatures and put it on the ballot for a vote. The library was successful in getting a small property tax passed to fund the city libraries. I think it ended up being an additional $20 or $25 per year for a $100,000 house.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

^ This. We'll be laughed at---again---for actually hitting a pothole while these "expert drivers" have "never hit one", but after spending $700 myself in January to fix pothole damage I'd also much rather everyone in the city cough up $20 more per year to have the roads in halfway decent shape rather than having so many people out hundreds of dollars at a clip with no option for recovery!

Maybe you are right, I don't know. Ive never hit a pothole hard enough to cause damage in my 17 years here but have also never seen roads in such deplorable shape. What about those that don't drive? I guess that is sort of akin to paying school taxes when you have no kids.

The "non-profit" tax dollars would sure go a long way to filling some of these budget holes.

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

How is a lack of funds negligence? I would say spending money you don't have is negligence. In this case the city doesn't have it, so they can't/don't spend it.

(Insert my standard, slow down, anti-EE rant here)

As for Brookline Blvd, it has been "fixed"...they brought in street cleaners to clean up the debris that had crept out of the potholes and patched them to the best of their ability....The Blvd is in such bad shape this winter, because it hasnt been touched for a few years because it was supposed to be milled and repaved last fall, but they ran out of time. There is also the problem of the cobblestone and trolly tracks underneath...I believe they are removing the tracks when they redo it this spring...

It's negligence because roads are an essential service. Everything we do revolves around those roads. And they should be safe!

I need to be able to drive to the grocery store more than I need to use the library.

Do I really need to lay out the concept of prioritizing priorities?

If we all have to switch to light trucks with big tires in order to safely navigate this city, then who benefits from that in the end?

[Girl.In.The.Woods]

Originally Posted by SlurmsMcKenzie

Maybe you are right, I don't know. Ive never hit a pothole hard enough to cause damage in my 17 years here but have also never seen roads in such deplorable shape. What about those that don't drive? I guess that is sort of akin to paying school taxes when you have no kids.

The "non-profit" tax dollars would sure go a long way to filling some of these budget holes.

What about those that don't drive?

Doesn't apply. These folks still need an ambulance or firetruck to be able to reach their house, or the UPS truck, or a semi to get their groceries to a store. And they also most likely use public transportation that uses (and destroys) the roads.

I don't pay property taxes as a renter, but my landlord does.