Amanda Slater/Flickr

Measuring a pothole.

Outside of policing, firefighting and education, it is arguably the biggest job of a city government: fixing and maintaining the streets and roads. In Los Angeles, a city that lives and dies with its cars, the health of the streets is akin to the heath of arteries leading to a heart—and L.A.’s arteries are clogged and the patient is sick. Recently ranked as having the second worst roads in the country and made worse by record rainfalls this year, undermanned road crews fanned out across the city this weekend in an effort dubbed “Operation Pothole” with the goal of repairing 20,000 potholes. Mayor Villaraigosa’s office estimates that 250,000 potholes are fixed each year and points to the success of the 311 phone service that allows motorists to report potholes—but the road repair agencies admit that budget cuts have limited their ability to act. The craters remain problematic and there are questions about how the city determines when a pothole should be filled versus when an entire street should be repaved. How are the potholes in your neighborhood and is the city acting quickly enough to fill them?

Guests:

Andrea Alarcon, commissioner, Los Angeles Board of Public Works

Robert A. Ringler, president, Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council