Hole lot of trouble on Winnipeg roadways By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023

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This article was published 12/04/2023 (890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rennie Bodi has more than two thousand reasons to hate potholes.

The Lord Roberts neighbourhood resident forked out $2,000 to get her vehicle repaired last spring. A brown pool of water covering a section of her Winnipeg back lane was hiding a manhole cover which had dropped as much as 16 centimetres, causing extensive damage to the front end of her Kia Soul when one of its wheels suddenly dropped down.

A year later, Bodi’s car is repaired but the offending hole is still there.

“The city says it could take up to 124 days (for the dropped sewer opening) to be repaired,” Bodi said Wednesday. “That’s August.

“The sewer is in the same condition as it was last year… I know the city is short staff and they are doing their best, but up to 124 days? This is dangerous.”

Similar to rising river levels, the first robins and Canada geese, and dog poop thawing on sidewalks, potholes are one of the local harbingers of spring.

Whether back alleys, residential streets or major high-speed routes, potholes are an all too familiar sight — when motorists see them in time — causes vehicles to swerve into other lanes or endure the sound of a tire banging into roadway gaps.

John Angus is no stranger to potholes.

During one particular spring season, about two decades ago, the then-city councillor for a ward representing St. Norbert decided to do something about it.

Angus created what he called the pothole hotline, giving his own phone number as one constituents and other city residents could call. Did it work?

“Frankly, 20 years later, there was very little I could do about it but take down a note,” he said. “But there is also some degree of satisfaction that someone in authority was willing to listen to them.

“I would make a note and then take it to administration… Most of my colleagues didn’t know what to do, so they referred it to administration but I did it differently. You have a problem with potholes? Let me know about it.”

There was some success, he said: thanks to the hotline, public works made and continues to make filling in potholes a priority this time of year.

Public works spokeswoman Julie Dooley said City of Winnipeg crews have already filled 22,306 potholes this year.

“We prioritize repairs based on risk to property or people — hazardous locations — as well as the speed of the street and street priority — regional versus residential,” she said.

“The timeline for repairs can range anywhere from a few days to a few months, based on severity.”

Dooley said there were 1,431 service requests from residents reporting potholes March 1 to April 11.

“This week, we have three automatic patching vehicles attending to high-speed streets and intersections, and 17 crews — seven daytime, four evening and six overnight — manually filling potholes everywhere else.”

CAA spokeswoman Elisha Dacey said the motorists advocacy group’s annual vote for the worst 10 streets or highways in Manitoba wrapped up this week.

While final results won’t be known for a few weeks, many of the votes were for streets littered with potholes, she said.

“Potholes, definitely, are still top of mind,” Dacey said. “We really try to get people to talk about things like infrastructure but it really comes down to low maintenance roads.

“Clearly, potholes are No. 1.”

Manitoba Public Insurance spokeswoman Kristy Rydz said there have been 396 pothole claims in Winnipeg so far this year, and another 72 across the province.

Rydz advises motorists to look as far in front of them as they can for potholes and, while approaching one, don’t swerve: “You may hit another vehicle.”

“Most potholes develop in the curb lane where water can accumulate. This can hide potholes, so be sure to approach all puddles with the same caution as you would a pothole,” she added.

“Potholes, definitely, are still top of mind… We really try to get people to talk about things like infrastructure but it really comes down to low maintenance roads… Clearly, potholes are No. 1.”–CAA spokeswoman Elisha Dacey

As for Bodi, she said a helpful local resident has placed an orange traffic cone where the hole in the back alley pavement is located.

“You can see it very clearly now,” she said. “But with one of the residents having a chain link fence on one side, there isn’t enough room in the alley for large pickup trucks to get around the hole.

“And if it is going to take up to 124 days for it to be repaired, it will continue to be dangerous because we’re going to get more snow or more rain before then.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca