'Pothole Blitz' Underway On LA Streets

LAKE BALBOA (CBSLA) – A "pothole blitz" by the Los Angeles Bureau of
Street Services aimed at fixing some of the worst potholes is set to kick into high gear Saturday.

Fueled by an extra $250,000 in funding approved by the City Council
recently, city workers have been out actively looking for potholes that need
fixing, rather than the common practice of responding to sites reported by
residents through the MyLA311 mobile app and phone number, which is the primary
way the city receives pothole repair requests.

This is the second weekend of the four-weekend "blitz," but
the first where actual potholes are being filled, as last weekend was focused on assessments and inspections, according to the Department of Public Works.

Councilwoman Nury Martinez, who introduced the motion calling for the
"pothole blitz," held a news conference in Lake Balboa Saturday to announce
the number of identified potholes from last weekend's inspections.

Our recent rains just made the bad pothole problem even worse.

"As you can tell by driving around our city, not only do you see
these potholes, but they are becoming more and more apparent that we just can't
keep up with the repairs," Martinez said during a recent City Council meeting
when the extra pothole funds were discussed.

The pothole motion, which was approved March 1, says the Bureau of
Street Services received 3,911 pothole repair requests in January and was on
pace to receive even more in February.

The motion also says that the MyLA311 mobile app and phone number is
the primary way the city receives pothole repair requests, but that many
communities are not "as savvy or educated in using MyLA311" as others, and
that the city should proactively send crews out to identify unreported potholes
over the four-weekend campaign.