A street pot hole to look out for

Have returned to riding my bike the past few days and have noted how deteriorated the city streets are currently. Pot holes appearing after an extra cold winter with record breaking snow accumulation is to be expected but this is amazing what I seeing this year. This one on northbound Damen Ave at Webester Ave I came close to going into as I was following behind a slow turning car. Recorded this photo on my return trip. Note the fresh gouging in the asphalt from vehicles bottoming out in the hole. Just imagine if a bicyclist were to hit this hole. I passed another one very much the same further along on my path but not sure now what the street was. I guess I'll have to be extra careful to keep my eyes down and up at the same time as I'm cycling on Chicago's streets.

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Permalink Reply by Reboot Oxnard on February 25, 2014 at 12:49am

Report them to the city. Monsters like this, especially. Call 311 or do it on the web - they'll even send you updates if you want.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/street/svcs...

Permalink Reply by prof.gfr on February 25, 2014 at 6:34am

+1 to Sol's comment. Our alderman (Pawar, 47th Ward) said essentially the same thing. Report them now so quick fixes can be made. More diligent repairs will be made in Springtime…whenever that is….

I've also used the Chicago Works app, which Pawar recommends using.  Available for iPhone and maybe also android? Seems to function well as far as I can tell. 

Sol said:

They are cold filling potholes now and will come back in the spring to do more permanent repairs which cannot be done now due to the cold weather, according to an email I received from my alderman (Harry Osterman).

In the email, we were requested/encouraged to report potholes to both his office (if in the 48th ward) so they can follow up with Streets and Sanitation and also to 311 with as specific as possible of an address, location in the street (i.e. near the curb, in the traffic lane where a tire might hit it, etc.) and approximate size.

They are apparently engaging in Triage to figure out how to best apply their limited resources. The last time I saw Chicago streets this bad was when Harold Washington was mayor and the city was flat busted broke and in a horrible recession. Oh wait, that was also the last time we had a winter this bad.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on February 26, 2014 at 7:17am

Here's my report which I submitted online. Should be taken care of in no time:

311 Service Tracker


There was no Service Request found for “14-00264061”

To verify your service request number, please call 311.

If you’re interested in another service not listed here, please call 311 to get the latest status updates.


Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

That one is certainly among the most dangerous I have seen.  Did you do a 311 report?  Please do for the health and safety of everyone, and attach the photo!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on February 26, 2014 at 7:23am

I have had that happen to me once or twice.  I called 311, they could not find it but took the report and gave me a tracking number that worked.  And the work was done.  Overall, I have been amazed at how well the pothole reporting thing has worked when I have reported a problem.
 
Kevin C said:

Here's my report which I submitted online. Should be taken care of in no time:

311 Service Tracker


There was no Service Request found for “14-00264061”

To verify your service request number, please call 311.

If you’re interested in another service not listed here, please call 311 to get the latest status updates.


Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

That one is certainly among the most dangerous I have seen.  Did you do a 311 report?  Please do for the health and safety of everyone, and attach the photo!

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on February 26, 2014 at 12:26pm

If you are injured because of this pothole, I know a lawyer to call. Brendan posted at My Bike Advocate about the clear and present danger of potholes. 

A Call To Arms Against Holes

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 9, 2014 at 2:18am

Second City Network has taken notice of the Chicago pothole "issue."

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