Bob
Welch: City potholes:
Duck ponds or bomb craters?
Only
in Eugene would you ask
readers to name their
worst potholes and have
letter-writers rush to
the holes' defense. Get
philosophical about them,
as if potholes were to
21st-century Eugene families
what the Continental
Divide was once to 19th-century
Oregon Trail travelers.
Anna Marmati sent an
e-mail titled, "Potholes
can be your friends!
(Our street's potholes)
turn our street into
a wildlife sanctuary.
When the potholes fill
with water, birds use
them as a giant birdbath.
I've seen ducks swimming
in them. It's pretty
quiet out in front of
my house, without cars
zipping by. It can get
dusty in the summer,
but I've put in butterfly
bushes to cut down on
that and attract more
birds and wildlife."
Pete Forsman argued
in defense of shoddy
streets for a different
reason. He referred to
the unimproved west end
of Jeppesen Acres Drive,
a popular shortcut between
Coburg Road and Gilham
Road and heavily used
by Sheldon High students,
who walk in the roadway
due to a lack of curbs
and sidewalks.
"Hurried drivers weave
among students during
heavy-use hours," he
wrote. "Thank goodness
for the potholes to help
slow them down! There
are numerous examples
of such streets in this
area of town, and I maintain
that the potholes are
a blessing in disguise." Until,
he says, there's money
for permanent fixes.
Who knew that there
was a pro-pothole faction?
People who see them as
sanctuaries? Who see
them as nature's speed
bumps?
Ingrid Olson philosophized
about individual determination
and the pothole. "I seem
confused. When my dirt
road had potholes I didn't
wait for the city to
fix them. I filled them
myself with gravel. If
I couldn't get the rocks,
I just scraped the loose
stuff off the side of
the road into them. If
I had waited for the
city, I would not have
been able to get into
my driveway. Do these
people not have shovels?
I didn't have the money
to pay for improvements
also, but I didn't let
that stop me."
But
what about the original
question: Where are Eugene's
worst potholes? A few
dozen readers sent in
recommendations. Among
the nominees:
. " `The Pits of Bailey
Hill.' Bailey Hill Road
from West 11th Avenue
to just past Churchill
High. I watch through
my rearview mirror and
behind me the other cars
follow my lead through
the tire eaters and rim
slashers."
. " `Whiplash Alley.'
West Seventh Alley, between
Tyler and Van Buren.
I own Independent Physical
Therapy on Seventh, and
I have to caution my
patients not to leave
via the alley, lest they
undo my good work."
. "Ash Street. I have
a friend who lives on
this street and I can't
drive down it in my Mustang;
I have to park and walk."
. "Robin Avenue at the
west end of it, where
it connects with Ruskin.
After it's rained, the
potholes look more like
bomb craters filled with
water."
. "As an LTD bus operator,
I can suggest the two
worst streets on our
routes are Riverview
Street, east of Hendricks
Park, and Elmira Road
in the Bethel area. These
streets make our 20 newest
buses rattle, shake,
bounce and pound just
like our oldest models."
. "Olive Street, between
31st Street and Prall
Lane, is a really good
place for drivers to
avoid."
. "Arcadia Drive, north
from Harlow Road to the
beginning of the new
(expensive) Meltebeke
houses: a local disgrace."
. "Country Club Road
between Sand Avenue and
Willagillespie. Complaints
have resulted only in
filling the potholes,
which quickly break down."
. "Have you ever tried
driving down Inglewood
Avenue between Tabor
and Norkenzie? It's becoming
a gravel road from all
the bad patching that's
been done when cars threaten
to disappear! The rest
of the avenue is kept
up. Meanwhile, we just
keep doing the `Inglewood
Slalom.' "
So there you have it,
a sampling that reminds
us that Eugene residents
are just like its roads:
diverse. One person looks
at a pothole and sees
a trip to Eugene Auto
Body. Another sees a
duck sanctuary.
Go figure.
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