EVOLUTION, TECHNOLOGY AND POTHOLES
This rant is about something that has been bothering me for a long, long time. It involves something that is a simple thing. But when you bring outside factors into it the whole thing piles up into a huge pile of (for lack of a better word) shit.
Basic Characters of this Rant:
The wonderfully simple thing is a pothole. The other factors are the government, city council, city workers and the general public.
I will try to explain it as I see it:
1. A pothole is formed. It's not important how or why, lets say ground movement or increased traffic pressure, or even the will of God himself. It's not critical to the story.
2. For about 2-3 years nothing is done about it. The hole gradually gets bigger and bigger till-BAM one day the mayor or some other pompous mover-and-shaker hits the pothole on one of the few occasions that they actually get out and see this city that we all live in. Said mover-and-shaker makes a mental note "Have the Department of Transportation fix this, I think I might have scratched the side fender of my new BMW on that nasty pothole" and then they proceed to
call their secretary to make an appointment to have the tiny scratch fixed, citing it as a work related accident and to be paid with city money too, of course.
3. Out of nowhere and with no warning, great hulking machinery fills the street. It does nothing else. They just park it there for the better part of two or three days making many areas inaccessible to the people who work in that general area. Oh did I also mention that it's always in the middle of a one way street too? So that you are forced to make an illegal u-turn and go the wrong way because there are no signs posted? Oh, and of course, it's also always on a street that you are usually allowed to park on in this parking-cramped city.
4. After three days are up, about ten city workers descend upon the area and stand around watching one poor fool dig the hole out by hand (I guess they don't know how to really use the hulking machinery, just drive it around). After which, the lone man finishes digging a
five foot ditch 10 times the size of the original pothole. He jumps out and a cement truck comes around and they fill the hole up. Time it takes to fill the hole up: 5 minutes.
5. They then put a very large sheet of four inch metal plating over the hole. They don't bolt it down to the street or anything. Just place it in the middle of the street so that anyone who happens to
either live or work in the area cannot help but hit the damn thing with their car. (added note: in case you are interested, damage caused by hitting the four inch metal plate is not covered either by the city nor general car insurance policies)
6. After five or six months, three things usually happen. a) if placed in a heavy traffic area, the plate will start shifting itself down the road completely uncovering the filled hole, b) an unexpected
surge of rain comes along and whooshes the plate to never-never land, or c) (the one I think is most humorous) some industrious person decides to steal the metal, in turn selling it for scrap.
7. Once the plating is gone rain, snow and general traffic wear and tear starts emptying the hole of the fill material.
8. Then we are right back at number 1.
You would honestly think with all of the genetic and technological advances available we would be able to take care of something so easily fixed. But with government greed and the apathetic public
nothing will change.
You know the one thing that really grabs my goat, the government actually submitted (and won!) a vote for an increase in city taxes to pay for road maintenance. Well now, that's what I call money well spent!
See, I told you! This story was recently published on the KMBC web site...
Same Pothole Flattens Several Cars' Tires, Report Potholes To Us Online
RAYTOWN, Mo., Posted 6:19 p.m. CST January 30, 2001 -- Now that's a pothole! More than a dozen people reported that their cars tires were flattened by an 18-inch-wide hazard Monday on westbound Missouri 350 in Raytown.
The Department of Transportation says that the hole, about 4 inches deep, was reported in the morning and filled before noon
Link to Story
