DALLAS — Potholes are a pain especially one particular pothole on Malcolm X Boulevard in South Dallas.
“Broke my axel because there was a big hole in the street,” said Shanay Wise, a South Dallas resident.
She had to fix her car after driving over that hole earlier this year.
“The next day, they came to fix, but then I was left with a $500 bill of trying to get my car fixed,” said Wise.
That hole and many others are part of the problems the City of Dallas Department of Public Works hopes to fix with their five-year Infrastructure Management Plan for streets, sidewalks, alleys, and bridges.
The city said, with more than $500 million from the proposed bond and the current general fund, they are still more than $100 million short of what is needed to fix streets.
“That’s a huge number because we’re sometimes we’ll hear 10 million, 12 million. Thirty million scares, right?" said Omar Narvaez, Dallas City Council Member District 6.
Public Works uses a pavement condition index to grade streets. The overall average for the city was 71.5 which is a ‘B’ on their ratings scale.
In District 7, where Wise lives, it was a 73. That is considered good, but the worst score was in District 14. It had a rating of 68, which is considered fair.
Public Works Director Ali Hatefi said it is due to higher street usage.
“Because of the congestion, because of the traffic load and because of the old part of the town that Dallas’ downtown is,” said Hatefi.
The department also identified 100 bridges that need improvement as City Council turned the focus on neighborhood sidewalks.
“I just want to make sure that neighborhoods are getting their fair representation and it’s not a blanket throughout the entire district,” said Jesse Moreno, Dallas City Council Member District 2.
Wise said she also wants a focus on the community too. She said she is glad the city has a five-year plan, but wants the community to be at the heart of it.
“Sometimes, people feel like they have the answer. Sometimes, you don’t even know what the question is. Like, survey the people,” said Wise.
For the entire presentation from the Department of Public Works, click here.