I so agree. I honestly can’t see how we can possibly fix this problem any way short of a miracle. The sooner council jumps on the bandwagon the sooner our streets will be fixed. It definitely won’t be easy.

I may be moving out of town in a few months from now and not because of the roads. But will be nice to drive on better roads.

So regardless of how the roads were mismanaged and abandoned in the past, what percentage of PG residents are going to support the fairly sizeable tax increase that is now required so that the roads can be fixed PROPERLY?

Or, do you think City Hall can still “tinker” within the confines of the existing budget and commitments and pull it off? I haven’t been to PG for about a year, but based on how the roads are described to me by people still living there, I would suggest that the problem has grown beyond one of “management” and is now one of acquiring necessary capital to undertake the project.

The question then becomes one of is there anyone at City Hall who actually has the capability to manage such a project IF they had the necessary capital? I’m not so sure that there is if past history is any indication, but I’m not so sure. It’s probably a good thing you have all that high end business knowledge on council, as they likely have lots of experience in building and planning a road system for a city the size of PG. Oh wait, they don’t? Oops . . .

Been a very proud citizen of P.G. for over fifty years. Today our paved roads are the worst that I have ever driven on anywhere. I am embarassed to admit that I live here. Our Mayor and council should get out and drive some of the roads in the Danson and BCR Industrial areas. They are totally unacceoptable.

Our present council and past councils have worked hard to get the roads in the despicable condition we see today. Award winning roads 2 years running. I mean who else can claim that distinction?
PG has purchased a Nissan Leaf. I wonder if the bid specification included the ability to handle pot holes.
Right now the graduated driving system has “L” and “N” letters. Soon to be added by ICBC will be a “P” for pot hole driving and new drivers will have to demonstrate their ability to run a pot hole obstacle course.
As Ben has stated lots of money for photo op projects but nothing for essentials.
Council reminds me of Marie Antoinette in France before the revolution. The people were starving and when she was told there was no meat and potatoes she said let them eat cake. Oblivious to the problem and we all know what happened to the king of France.

Third World roads. How embarrassing. Blame it on the freeze and thaw! How convenient. Now what?

I don’t get it either. Council went for a 4% increase to taxes because that was what the City staffers told them to vote for. Does that make any sense. How about the City staff that aren’t asking the taxes to be raised to 8% so that we can actually deal with the roads. Instead we sit here thinking how can it possibly get worse.

Oh it will get worse. $3M to fix 600 KM of roadways. Good luck. It’s a band aid and probably one of those little ones with spongebob on it. Not even a decent size band aid for pete’s sake!!!!

I sure hope this extra 2 cents on the fuel will work out. But, unfortunately, that will probably be at least a year even if it gets passed. Maybe when they ax the visitor information booth at highway 16/97 we can take down Mr. PG and carve him up into pieces to fill our potholes……Yikes what is going on in this City.

If you owned a house and the roof started leaking or the foundation started crumbling, would you repair those items or buy new furniture? Yes, you could always sell the house for a loss and cut your losses.

The point I am trying to make is that unless we look after the infrastructure first and foremost, the frivolous items mean absolutely nothing. Unless somebody says otherwise, I don’t think we can sell the city and cut our losses either.

In order to fund the items that need repairing, we don’t need to raise the taxes. But, we will have to forego any ‘nice to have’ projects. Get your house in order City Council and put the money where it is needed.

Looking through the city’s 2012 capital plan there are some item that could be easily postponed and that money put into road repair.

$100,000 Boulevard irrigation
$200,000 Civic Facility energy improvements(green,carbon reduction)200k spent last year
$290,000 Computer replacement
$225,000 Computer betterment
$40,000 Four seasons fitness equipment
$25,000 Civic center audio visual upgrades
#20,000 CN center video camera

These items are from the funded list, out of the unfunded a couple of items stick out.

$460,000 To demolish Ed Delorme and Norgate Auto Body buildings

$250,000 Parkland Acquisitions Patricia Blvd greenway lands- part of a multi-year program and millions of dollars. They must now own every vacant lot in the core and now have shifted focus.

One other thing that stuck out like a sore thumb is the amount of money the city plans to spend this year on computer related equipment and services. In addition to the 515k above there is also another 150k for computer maintenance and $935,000 toward a Computer Maintenance Management System.

A couple of questions come to mind. What is the difference between computer betterment and computer replacement? Is spending $2,000 per employee in a single year normal in any organization(750 employees…1.5 million in spending)?? Total spending in computer and IT in last two years over $2 million! Maybe we have to start driving on a virtual highway ala Tron:-(

Hopefully the CMMS system results in better decisions as the ones coming from the living,breathing managers leave a lot to be desired.

Just maybe global warming is not so bad. If the freeze thaw cycle disappears our roads will not suffer the usual spring damage we constantly see. The city has explained the freeze thaw is the main culprit in destroying the roads resulting in there despicable condition and we all know city council are road experts and would not lie to us.
Anyone seen a street sweeper lately? Fall is approaching quickly and the streets have yet to be swept or lines painted.

The City should start selling some properties to get some cash flow and strictly use those funds for the roads.

The City wanted to borrow funds to build a dike and the citizens said no. How many people would be in favour of the City borrowing money to get the roads fixed?

Obviously there is something wrong with the roads and how they were constructed. Were they designed for the size of the vehicles we have and amount of traffic?

Look at the highways, they are built to a different standard and are in good condition still. The City needs to “dig deeper” into this problem because re-paving isn’t going to make the problem go away.

Every few Years a new Version of Windows is released and you need new Computers to run this bloated Operating System, take a look at the City of Munich, gave MS the slip and running free Software, so will many others, the Cost are just getting out of Hand to upgrade every few Years. PG has so much Money so lets spend it. How many Roads could have been fixed?

In addition to the terrible state of the roads, there are also serious problems with the water mains. They are breaking at an alarming rate. Apparently the plastic fittings that were supposed to last 40 years and save money are falling apart after 20 years. This is a huge problem.

I still think that there must be some way that we can borrow a substantial amount of money from the Northern Develoment Initiative Fund, at a low interest rate, and pay the money back with the $3.5 Million we budget each year for roads. This would allow us to get started right away, and get most of the work done over a two or three year period. Doing $3.5 Million work each year, only gets us farther behind.

If we cant access money from the NDIF, then we could of course borrow it from the Municipal Lending Authority, however the interest would probably be higher. The NDIF, money is proceeds from the sale of BC Rail and we should utilize this money if we can.

In addition we have the Terasen Gas Lease in Lease out agreement, that apparently will have a $24 Million legacy fund available in 2020. Why cant we designate this money to fixing our roads, and find a way to access it. Surely that it not an insurmountable problem.

Then of course we have all the property owned by the City. Can we sell some at a reasonable price???

In addition one would hope that the **Core Reveiw** will come up with millions in savings, that could be used for the roads.

Time for the Administration and Council to solve this problem. Thats why we pay them the big bucks. Raising taxes is not a solution. Innovative thinking is.

@Outwest

I suggested a long time ago on here that the city make the switch to open source operating systems and software. If I remember correctly they spend something like $20k per month on license fees to Microsoft.

The Linux OS and open office software is getting better all the time and would easily meet the needs of a majority of the users.

@Palopu

If you look at the city’s cap-ex going forward, they have about $100k a year to address underground issues before paving. There must be one person paying attention, normally the street is dug up the year after paving:)

Someone put a bug in Prince Charles ear to come and visit PG. That should get some action! Or they would plan a path and just pave that one. Nevermind!
People should start to send any repair bills to the city enmass. Hire a lawyer and sue the city for not dealing with unsafe roads.

If the road is set to be re-paved, maybe take a look at the utilities below. How much money is wasted by the lack of planning between departments?

Maybe the new $3.5 million Administartion building with help with this issue?

And what exactly does the City by “Parkland Aquisition on Patricia”? Is this to buy up properties on 5th Ave in the light-industrial area between Queensway and the City yard on 4th for the “canal project”?

The City should also look at closing 4 Seasons permanently to save on costs and upgrades. The money saved on this building (and potential sale of the land) could go towards adding a waterslide to the Aquatic Centre or expanding the programs?

Rounder: closing 4 seasons could also be put into roads.

Maybe the city could dig up the remaining pavement around the potholes and go back to gravel roads. Then they would only have to grade them once in a while !!!!.

People I know that do not live here first mention our crime rate then the roads. They have heard how bad they are. They have never been here nor do they wish to visit PG. I have lived here since 1989 and am embarrassed to say I’m still here. Why?. because of the people I know. I don’t go down town for a night out, scared to be shot. Also, if I have a few drinks, I just may fall into a pot hole and won’t be able to get out. No one would ever find me until the City decides to fix the roads. I would die in there since the roads won’t be fixed until what, hell freezes over? I am proud to know as many good people I do in PG but definitely not proud to admit I live here. That’s all people say to me is the crime and road conditions. Don’t blame them for not wanting to see PG. Who would want to risk their car conditions just to see crime and holes. Good job City of PG!

Share most roads? No white lines on the highways especially at Domano and Highway 16. I know that it is provincial but the cost of “good” white line paint prohibitive? Speeding ticket revenue down because or our “mini-sinkholed roads? There must be a correlation because one would have to be certifiably insane to use excess speed over our regular pot holed roads in this town.

Harbinger: This morning it looked like the lines were painted on Hwy 16 when I drove from College Heights.

Notice the white lines painted inside the crack in the highway in front of Vanway school just past the light going west? Methinks they would have even painted over some road kill if it existed.

Picky picky, eh? Lol. I can’t help it.

Maybe the City has decided to save some money on painting road lines this year??

They will be painted two days before the repaving starts…

lol interceptor…..they like doing things A$$ backwards as they keep proving over and over.

What happened to the lease-in, lease-out gas deal that was supposed to throw off cash for road rehabilitation?

What’s been happening with the traffic ticket money? Municipalities only started getting that money from the province recently. No-brainer to put it towards roads as that’s where it came from.

And then there’s the massive increase in gaming money. That’s hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars more a year that flows into the city coffers (yes, gaming is the only business that can outright bribe the city openly with a kickback for zoning approvals).

City councils past, and the administration, have screwed up royally. Time to take an axe to their jobs, or at least their pay.

Like 30%.

Just until the roads are fixed…

Is there though anything that we can do because this is obviously something that council is not taking seriously and is a SERIOUS issue that is only going to get worse and we cannot afford that! I would support a rally or petition or something if I know what was available to be done. I drive the roads all day everyday and that is my top priority, not performance theatres, new arenas or pools or fancy memorial monuments that the birds get more enjoyent out of. I’m getting real sick and tired of this mis management. Let’s do something!

Maybe all the “road whiners” on this site (including me) can buy a spray can of orange fluorescent paint and circle the pot holes we most hate. So when the mayor drives home after work she may take “special” notice. Get arrested for vandalism? The only rough justice you will get is a ride to the police station. Then tell it to the judge. Who also drives home every day. Pay cash for yer paint.

I thought I read that the Ticket Money went to cover the policing costs and Gaming Money went into the general fund (check the City’s website for the 2011-2014 budget review).

It’s all in there – along with the million dollars a year for 5+ years on computer upgrades, etc.

Sometime around 2019/2020 it looks like Foothills Blvd will get extended to Ferry, just in time when all the roads have disappeared.

$250,000 bucks for the city from the RCMP in a “good” year. With the pot hole situation, one would have to be a ninny to speed. Foothills to Ferry? What about the end of Ospika headed towards Highway 16?

Lived in PG for 26+ years. Got so fed up with the high crime rate, crappy roads,lousy air quality, fluoridated water, and incompetency of the people running the city that we finally moved. Couldn’t be happier now that I’m no longer living there. It was an embaressment to say we lived in PG.

1st: City should do is DEMAND continous pours, 17th Ave from the by-pass to Ospika is proof that the system used in the City with joints from every new load of asphalt(I have seen them sit & wait for the truck of new asphalt) does not work. Every joint has pot holes or developing pot holes. The Highways use continous pours.

The use of cracked rock instead of crush rock would also be a better road base.

2nd: look to the past, some of the old roads are in better shape, our three neighbourhood streets were in great shape for over 40 years. They weren’t smooth like all the new roads but they did not only stand up to the wear they were also safer. There was no need to repave the street in front of my house but they did and it is more dangerous as it is so smooth and already breaking down.

3rd: The City sold the Terasen Gas Lease in Lease as money for roads that is why some people voted for it in the referendum.

Ben you’re right. Freeze/thaw has very little to do with it. Just notice everytime we get a good rain, the potholes grow like weeds. No frost to speak of.