Our local neighborhood streets are a disgrace.
Driving down them is a bumpy experience with all the patches that have been poorly done over the years.
City council issued $218 million of general obligation bonds in June of 2012 for street infrastructure improvements. I have not seen a lot of construction going on yet as a result of these funds being committed — the city engineers are busy with the downtown projects right now.
I hope that some of this money will be spent in our neighborhoods and not all of it will be spent downtown.
Management
If they do get around to helping us residents I would like to suggest that they make some changes in the way they manage the quality of our streets.
While some streets may prove to be smooth surfaces immediately after they are paved, it seems that inevitably new reasons to penetrate and patch the streets come up right after the new paving is finished.
To me it would be nice if the city would adopt the following policies:
- New paving projects will result in a smooth street, or the contractor will not be paid.
- Those that cut into the paving must replace the cut with a patch that results in a smooth street, or the contractor will not be paid and the contractor will be ineligible to make a paving cut for some period of time after failure to restore a street
- The city should keep track of which contractors worked on particular parts of streets and hold them responsible for repairing patches that result in bumps. Their responsibility should be for at least a few years.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
The holes in our city streets make for an interesting ride…They smooth out with a Hyundai…
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It’s no longer just a problem on neighborhood streets. There are potholes on Mesa and other major streets that will bend bend a wheel or change the alignment of your car’s front end. I’m not sure I want to attend baseball games a the new ballpark because it might damage my car. (That’s sure to get some action.)
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The streets around UTEP and Kern are like driving on the surface of the moon. I had to have new engine mounts put on after driving down Robinson Ave every day for several years. The condition of Cincinnati Ave where the UTEP president’s home is – well, it’s really shameful. And Rim Road from Scenic Drive down to Kerbey is another mess, and has been for six years now since they scraped it and never came back to fix it. Money is wasted on mini traffic circles that are apparently intended to serve as speed bumps rather than traffic facilitators – and which are not large enough for the passage of vehicles such as moving vans or fire trucks. I wrote to the city department about this several times and there was never even the courtesy of a reply.
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There is already a requirement (by ordinance) for pavement cuts that includes a wider, better patch when doing a pavement cut. Now whether or not its enforced across the board is another thing. Guess it depends on who is doing the pavement cut and their friends inside city hall (or no friends inside city hall). Ordinance change was done in the last 18 months or so.
I heard council took all or most of the $218M (in other words delayed) and for the time being redirected it to QOL projects so they don’t have to sell more bonds at higher prices.
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Interesting shell game they’re playing with our money. So we get a new ballpark and other amenities but have to drive across deteriorating streets to get to those amenities. Basics don’t count in their definition of quality of life. That’s sure to impress people who are touring the city considering relocating to El Paso.
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But we’re going to have a great new AAA stadium, even if the roads don’t travel, toilets don’t flush, libraries run out of books and trash piles up. In the New El Paso, basics are NOT the road to progress; AAA baseball is the new economic engine.
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Maybe our city leaders need to schedule a big group tour of Oklahoma City to see how they manage the maintenance of their streets.
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They need to fix these streets. It is a very obvious indicator of city management. And they’re trying to attract business and families? Some of these potholes are deep enough to slash tires when the angle is just right. I have considered suing the city after having to replace two tires. Not to mention, the safety issue of continuing to drive and not realizing that you have slash until you park.
Another thing, someone needs to check the quality of the asphalt being used. I noticed cars trying to get traction, when it rains. Obviously, someone is cutting corners and the heavy oil on the streets ?
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Don’t complain until you have driven around Canutillo.
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Little Diner is worth enduring the bumps.
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You should not complain about pot holes until you’ve lived in Denver. Their pot holes make ours look like tiny crevices. Our recent ice storm (rain plus freeze) before Thanksgiving caused pot holes to pop up in my neighborhood — right after the street department had patched the street. And, by the way, I thought they did a good job.
Sometimes it seems that El Pasoans complain too much.
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Feel free to move back to El Paso. We’ll leave a hole in the road for you.
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Of course, el pasoans complain a lot. They are not getting the services they paid for. We don’t live in Colorado, what does that have do with El Paso? I used to live in the Northeast region, they gave other issues that have nothing to do with my new home, El Paso, so why should I refrain for complaining about here?
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Exactly. I love it (not really) when people living elsewhere tell me what I should do or think. Let that person relocate from Colorado to El Paso. On second thought, no. That person might bring the Colorado virus that causes shootings.
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The entire city is covered with roads in poor condition. Driving the length of Montwood or Edgemere heading towards the East Side is a very bumpy ride. Every time a new business is built, and the contractor cuts sections of the road to run electrical or plumbing, they never repair it properly. Between the potholes, and the constructions nails, tires do not last long in this city.
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