KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) — It’s almost July and potholes are still hanging around.
KCTV5 started reporting about treacherous road conditions back in January. Now, the weather has changed drastically, but we’re still reporting on potholes.
Nathan Vickers spoke to one man in Waldo who thought of an unusual way to draw attention to the problems on his street.
After three months of looking at a pothole, Frank Sereno had enough.
“The asphalt is completely degraded,” he said. “It’s just a symptom of our deteriorating road conditions.”
He said he has called about the pothole several times. Enough times that he decided it was time to try something new: a birthday party.
“I’m going to have a celebration for Pothole,” Sereno said. “I got some cake, lit a candle and had a little birthday party for Pothole. He seemed thrilled with the idea.”
He posted it on Facebook, much to the amusement of his neighbors.
“I didn’t sing to him,” he noted. “It was too hot out.”
A few blocks away, city workers were filling some of the cracks that formed over the winter.
“I’m extremely excited to see it filled,” Taylor Kruh said. “It’s been a fight.”
“I’m glad to see them because there’s three on this block that are terrible,” said Kay Gallardo.
People who live on streets with potholes hope their block is next. Some of them are several inches deep.
“Our crews are out on all the districts working through the 311 backlog,” Maggie Green, a spokesperson for public works, said.
She said rain has interfered with road repairs this spring, but that crews are making a push during the recent stretch of sunshine.
“There’s a lot of potholes still on the list we’re working through,” Green said.
Sereno hopes they’ll visit his street soon, before he makes another trip to the baker.
“I think this has to be more of a priority to the city,” he said.
