This week, Oakland launched its annual pothole blitz. A word like blitz is guaranteed to garner attention, and sure enough, twelve reporters showed up at Public Works’ opening-day press conference to get the story on the city’s ramped-up efforts to repair its run-down streets, said spokesperson Kristine Shaff. Two years ago we gave more than 1,000 words to pothole repair, too. But like most things in Oakland these days, behind the good news is a massive helping of bad news. The pothole blitz is a tiny Band Aid on an open wound, and only addresses streets that are still in generally good shape. Streets bad enough to require repaving are overlooked, because the city can’t afford it. Here’s the full story, as told by the numbers themselves.
TRENDING: