WINNIPEG — Pothole season continues in Winnipeg, and some people driving the roads said the city needs to stop worrying about major routes, and pay more attention to residential streets.
People living and driving on residential streets say the quiet roads are often being used as alternatives routes during rush hour, and they aren’t receiving enough care from the city.
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“There’s a lot of main thoroughfares that do need to be fixed, but these ones need attention as well,” Gavin Scott, who lives on a residential street in St. James, said.
In 2017, the city is dedicating more than $44 million to major routes in Winnipeg, and more than $60 million to residential streets and back lanes. The difference — residential streets make up 3,000 more kilometres of road compared to regional ones.
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Some drivers said residential shortcuts are common, and are asking for a permanent solution to sidestreet potholes city-wide.
“They definitely deserve more attention. What they’ve been doing in the past is a patch job. So they’re having to come to the same area again and again,” St. James resident Erika Cooper said.
CAA Manitoba said there are hundreds of residential streets that need to be fixed this year. They said they appreciate the city’s approach to infrastructure and slowly chipping away at the pothole problem in hopes of solving it for good.
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“The biggest thing we need to focus on is not so much the potholes, but the infrastructure behind them,” CAA Manitoba president Mike Mager said.
Mayor Brian Bowman said pothole patching crews are working 24/7, addressing 311 calls.
He said the record-breaking infrastructure investment of close to $100 million in 2017 will be positive for the city.
“We’re working with Winnipeggers to move in the right direction,” Bowman said.