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January 02, 2006
Road Condition Critical
The road conditions in this town are horrible. Plain and simple. Can't deny it. Roads that were built in the 1960's designed to be replaced after 10 years of use have been continually re-tarred and re-striped instead of replaced.
The downtown area is probably the worst, though there are other areas that come pretty close. Nobody can blame sparse population for not working on improving downtown roads, it's pretty congested there. Take a drive down 5th ave towards the hospital if you need proof. The road is rough, full of pot holes, and uneven. The shoulder, where residents park, is a muddy swamp. There is poor lighting at night making it a hazard for bicyclists and pedestrians, even the rare ones using a light at night. This is the main ambulance route to the hospital. Imagine bumping down the road with a broken leg or hip on that street. Ambulances, I can attest after working on them for a few years, are not comfortable ride. They're made for function, not comfort.
Then there's East East Ave. The road was re-covered last year (or was it the year before) and most of that is now peeling up. I'm not sure what stellar company did this work but instead of removing the old road and laying new blacktop they just put new asphalt on top of existing and called it a day. They didn't even go as far as doing the entire road, just a swath as wide as the machine would lay it, leaving the old stripes in a trench in the middle of the road. A trench which is now filled with water making the stripes impossible to see.
Perhaps the next time City Council talks about development of Chico they should consider beefing up what we already have before adding more.
Posted by at January 2, 2006 02:04 PM