“Operation Pothole” Is Back, Make Sure Our Bike/Bus Streets Get Fixed

Remember back in January when the City of Los Angeles launched "Operation Pothole" to repair 10,000 potholes over one weekend?  Apparently the City had so much fun, they decided to do it all over again, this time with twice as many crews filling twice as many holes on June 4th and 5th.

Without going in to a debate on whether special events to fill potholes in a city with 4,000 square miles of land full full of damaged streets is an effective plan, let's focus on getting many of those 20,000 potholes filled on bike routes, bike lanes, and bus routes.  Over the next week, take note of where the worst asphalt craters are in your commute and make sure to let the city know where these commuter traps are.  The cynic in me wanted to suggest we only report potholes on Wilshire west of Beverly Hills, but I'm pretty sure the staffers fielding the Operation Pothole calls wouldn't get the joke.

The LADOT Bike Blog has the details on how to call in a pothole to the city to get it filled.

1. Identify the location of the pothole by Address or Intersection
2. Call 3-1-1 (Narrated by Mayor Villaraigosa, himself with music during the wait by the Los Angeles Philharmonic!) -or- Call BSS at (213) 473-4183
3. Report online at  http://bss.lacity.org/request.htm

If you are calling, they will enter the request into the system between the hours of 7am and 4pm. After 4pm, someone will be available to take your request, but it will not be entered into the system until the next day.

I got some great notes from my Bike to Work Day ride with Mom about some potholes on Venice Avenue.  I'll let you know if the City gets around to them.  If you have any particularly nasty potholes you want to share with the world, leave the details in the comments section.