Welcome to another annoying pothole season.
Unfortunately for drivers, because the winter has been unusually mild and because we have seen a number of days of temperatures hovering above and below zero, pothole season has been more visible than usual.
At council Monday night, councillor Cathy Richardson said a number of people had talked to her this week about the potholes and corners that were being flooded due to the melt. She said her instruction to them “was to contact City Hall and let them know they’re there.”
Richardson also said that these same people later came back and told her the City had cleared up the drains right away.
City manager Jim Puffalt said anyone with concerns could call 306-445-1700, and central reception would take their calls and pass them along to public works.
Councillor Kelli Hawtin asked if the City was able to fix some of the bad road conditions. Puffalt responded that cold mix was the usual response at this time of year until the asphalt plant is up and running.
Puffalt also pointed to more permanent methods, noting they had fixed some holes using equipment purchased last year and there had been a very good initial responses.
Councillor Ryan Bater wanted to know the volume of potholes compared to previous years. He noted that because of the last month of zero-degree weather and a “daily melt and freeze overnight” his assumption was there was a higher volume.
Director of operations Stewart Schafer responded, “Yes, the potholes are with this freeze-thaw cycle extending longer.”
He pledged to continue to address the situation, and Puffalt added that phone calls were encouraged. If there is something that is “major and emergent,” they try to get there as quickly as they can.
Councillor Greg Lightfoot also gave some advice to drivers encountering water on the roads at this time of year. He pointed to some YouTube videos out of Saskatoon which showed cars flying through the air after hitting potholes covered in water.
He suggested drivers might try to skirt around water in the streets, or go through it slowly.
“You never know what could be under the water,” Lightfoot said. “The hole could be really big, as we witnessed from those YouTube videos from Saskatoon.”
