LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - Pothole Explosion in Chicago - Far Worse in '08 - Ooooh, My Aching Butt!
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
Hey, you dogs! I'm not sure if I sent you my Official Christmas, 2007 photo yet. That's me with my Human Mom, Sue. Santa Claus was taking the picture - I was one of his elves that night (really, I think it was my Human Dad, Team Leader Dean - but he hasn't fessed up yet. I know better, though - wasn't born yesterday, no!)
It's come earlier this year than in the last few years here across Chicago. The water-filled 9" deep, bathtub-sized hole at Austin and Elston Avenues here on the Northwest Side. The craters along Lake Shore Drive between Montrose Avenue and Irving Park Road. The gullies in the right-hand lane of the Stevenson and Kennedy Expressways. The rebar-exposed washboard on Western Avenue near the Dean's Team World Headquarters in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood. Yes, it's time for . . .
POTHOLE SEASON, 2008!
Those of you who live where it gets cold in the winter know exactly what I'm talking about. The repeating freeze, then thaw, then re-freeze cycle of our Chicago winters takes a heavy toll on our asphalt roads, expressways, and bridges. You're driving down the road, then, WHAM, when you least expect it - a crater the size of Evanston grabs your front passenger side tire. Hub caps go flying. Rims bend. Tires flatten. Axles strain.
And little white dog-butts really hurt!
We've had an incredibly snowy and cold winter here in Chicago. Virtually every snowfall has been followed by a deep-freeze cold spell, then a mid-30's warm up, then another snow-freeze-thaw cycle. The toll on the city has been huge! By February 7, 2007 - one year ago, last winter, a comparatively warm and snow-free season - the City of Chicago had 160 driver requests for emergency pothole repair, according to Chicago Transportation Commissioner Tom Byrne. This year, to date there have been 5,649 pothole repair requests - 415 on Wednesday, February 6th, alone!
To report a significant pothole in Chicago, call "311" from either your cell or land-line phone. If a road in the city damages your vehicle, you can make a claim for reimbursement. Visit the Chicago City Clerk website for a claim form. On State of Illinois roads, outside Chicago, complete this information form on the Illinois Department of Transportation website. Be patient for a reply, however - we're dealing with a bureaucracy here, and responses and payment can take a year, likely more!
Further, Chicago's snow removal budget - set at $18.5 Million before the winter began - has been 75% depleted (pothole repair comes from a different budget - the city has not made public exact repair costs yet). The Winter Snowfall Total, through Wednesday's 6-inch dump at O'Hare Airport, was 40 inches - the biggest here in 29 years. Big snows later February or March, not to mention next December, could tax the snow removal budget. But in a city where elected officials could lose their jobs over shoddy snow removal, it is unlikely that the snow plows will stop when they are needed.
Is there anybody happy by Chicago's bout with Old Man Winter, 2007-08?
Yes, you dogs, you guessed it. WE ARE! Don't you just love to play in the snow, and get it all over your fur? Blaze trails through the freshly-fallen 10"? Then, you can walk in your humans' Living Room and shake it out all over their beautiful, new Oriental rug - sorry, I was just getting a little excited!
No - it's the Private Snow Plow Operators - those hired guns that plow parking lots in strip malls - that are having a field day, and making a lot more money! Don't forget, as well, Auto and Tire Shops! It can cost upwards of $1,000 to repair a damaged axle, $700 for a rack-and-pinion steering assembly, maybe $500 for a new while, rim, and tire, over-$150 for four-wheel alignments.
Not to mention the toll the potholes take on my rear end, when Daddy Dean tries, but sometimes fails, to avoid that Grand Canyon-sized crack on Milwaukee Avenue. Oucchhh!
Read further information via the CBS 2 Chicago website, in a story by Mike Parker and Mike Flannery. Click here for today's coverage in The Chicago Tribune. Here's a Tribune forum on the worst potholes in the city - be very cautious!
Please, you humans - be careful, and be watchful, as you drive the streets of Chicago this winter. The butts you save, could be our own! Wooooooffff!
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
