Ann Arbor Has Third Worst Roads in Michigan and Some Seriously Fed Up Residents
Since 2008, Ann Arbor has been at the top of MITA’s list of cities with the worst roads in the state of Michigan. With its Road Repair Millage that brings in $9-$11 million dollars per year in funds that, in theory, are supposed to be used for road repair, Ann Arbor in 2010, was judged to have the third worst roads of out of Michigan’s 1,800 municipalities.
Local politicos and city staff have tried to float all sorts of “explanations.” Hard winter is generally at the top of the list. As in, “My goodness, this was an exceptionally hard winter and that’s why there’s grass growing in those potholes.”
Fourth Ward Council member Margie Teall blamed Ann Arbor potholes on sloppy drivers. “If people would just drive more lightly on the roads, we wouldn’t have such problems with crumbling road beds,” Teall told anyone who would listen to her.
Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo, with a look of distaste in his eyes, blamed the city’s various union leaders for the proliferation of potholes. “The unions are the cause of the city’s pothole problem. Damn them.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether Rapundalo was damning the union leaders or the potholes.
At a recent Monday Council caucus, to which only First Ward Council member Sabra Briere and David Askins, editor of AnnArborChronicle.com showed up, Briere spoke for just a few seconds about the pothole problem. Askins later posted a 5,000 word piece about the history of post holes, pot holders, pot smokers and pot bellied pigs to his news blog. Briere’s pithy quote, “I feel like I’ve just been told the truth,” alas, ended up on the cutting room floor.
Finally, Third Ward Council member Stephen Kunselman asked interim City Administrator Tom Crawford to explain why Ann Arbor’s roads are in such sorry shape given the amount of taxes Ann Arborites pay and the fact that there is also a voter approved millage for road repair. Crawford first asked for a lifeline, and when told he’d used all of them up, referred the question to City Attorney Stephen Postema who, in turn, suggested Council might go into closed session so the question could be answered in private. Postema smiled slyly and said that he didn’t want to break his 8-year record of never filing a formal written opinion with the City Clerk’s Office.
Seriously, Ann Arbor’s roads are in sorry shape and have been for the past several years. Evidently, residents of Spring Street have decided to take matters into their own capable and clever hands. The number on the barrel, below (794-6161), connects callers to the City of Ann Arbor Office of the Mayor. The second photo, also taken on Spring Street, is obviously a tongue-in-cheek solution to what Ann Arbor residents can do with a deteriorating roadbed.
This is just more evidence that, as John Hieftje often says, Ann Arbor is doing better than Flint, Benton Harbor, Beirut, Tripoli, and Kampala.
Got photos you want to share? Feel free to email them to A2P@A2Politico.com.
High taxes, lousy roads, gee, why don’t people just give up and move South? Oh wait, they are.
[…] an additions six percent sales tax at the pump. Ann Arbor is in especially great need of new roads. According to A2Politico, it was judged to have the third worst roads out of Michigan’s 1,800 […]
LOL! Thanks for the in-light-in-mint Lou!
I have it from a very relieble source that the reason this bad patch has not been repaired is that some morels were spotted there and the city is hoping to sell the crop to pay an astrologer to advise how best to “manage” the dark, angry forces gathering around them.
Whenever the subject of dark and angry forces comes up, I consult Dr. Queenie Speeks a certified Charlatan-faith Healer of some renown. She offers some unexpected insights, which I’ll share with you today. She has studied these phenomena all over the world and says the signs point to “YES”. “YES” meaning Yeti Escape System. Apparently things aren’t what they used to be in Yeti Land and the yetis are frantically tunneling in every direction and unfortunately, sometimes ending up in some extremely inhospitable places.
Queenie fears for the yetis who have wandered into Ann Arbor. She says it is likely that they have already been “renditioned” (hopefully not yet rendered) to a UM research black site where also reside the gnomes who had the malheure to cut into the tunnel while digging their own escape from a garden of a Belge expat in Heraklion. So while I’m in favor of good roads and safe streets, I think we need to think carefully about closing this important escape route for the earth’s hidden peoples. (go to http://www.ehp.org for more info on this liberation movement) Queenie states that the fairies and elves are, in fact, attempting a rescue of the yetis and gnomes. So for reasons entirely divorced from economics or esthetics, I support leaving this charming pedestrian refuge island as is for now. But at first sign of gremlins we need to seal it up. Spring St residents, please report any missing pets, children and grannies immediately. IMMEDIATELY!
Who is the Spring Street gardener and comedian? Come forth and take credit!