City has procedures for taking care of potholes

G. Michael Graham Photo. The Fort Thomas General Services Department fixes potholes year-round. The biggest time of the year to replace potholes is early spring.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Reporter

Like many cities, Fort Thomas residents see potholes on the streets throughout the year.

Potholes can be detrimental to drivers for many reasons. They make flat tires if wide enough and the tire goes deep enough into it.

Fort Thomas City Administrative Officer Don Martin said the General Services Department of Fort Thomas takes care of them year-round. But he said the department fills in many of them in early spring after months of lower winter temperatures.

Martin said the Fort Thomas government encourages residents to phone the General Services Department regarding the potholes. He said the repair time varies in each instance.

“If a crew is already out filling potholes, they can sometimes be addressed on the same day as a complaint is made,” Martin said. “Otherwise, it could take a day or two for the repairs to be made. If the pothole is located on a State Route such as Route 8, Memorial Parkway, Grand Avenue, River Road or Alexandria Pike, the city will notify (the Kentucky Department of Transportation) and ask the resident to call them as well. KDOT will assign one of its crews to make the necessary repairs.”

Other than that, the city is conducting its annual summer repairs. Martin listed Capri Drive between Clover Ridge and Rossford, Franklin Avenue, Garrison Avenue, Rossford between Clover Ridge and the city boundary near Cove Run Pike, Shamrock Lane, Shawnee Avenue and Toni Terrace as placed to be worked on this year.

“Resurfacing the city’s residential streets is generally considered as ‘maintenance’ and is not done for economic development purposes,” Martin said. “However, having an aggressive resurfacing program provides for a stable infrastructure. A well-maintained infrastructure helps to keep property values high.”

Martin did not point out a specific street or intersection as the most dangerous in the city. But he did say accidents happen mostly at intersections. That’s why cities use traffic lights, stop signs and pedestrian crosswalks to lessen chances of accidents.

“City staff believes that our intersections are safe,” Martin said. “However, we regularly look at intersections to determine if additional safety measures are warranted. Measures such as trimming brush and tree branches, painting yellow curbs and removing illegal signs placed near the intersections help to ensure the intersections work as designed.”

Martin said it is not common for residents to place signs at intersections to promote yard sales, elections and other special events. He encourages people to put signs on their own property as a result of the safety issues.