Hello, Pothole Hotline!

Call it the pothole hotline. La Crosse is not alone in dealing with pothole filled streets. It happens, especially this time of year, throughout the midwest as things freeze and thaw. The city of Milwaukee is taking a unique approach to dealing with potholes there. The city has set up a hotline people can call to report any dangerous potholes. It is pretty simple. Call the hotline, alert the city to the pothole you just drove over, and the city will dispatch crews to fix them. That is responsive government, something the city of La Crosse should adopt. We have plenty of potholes, many of which could be considered dangerous. Start with La Crosse Street, which the city is pledging to fix with or without state help. South Avenue is filled with potholes, as is Green Bay street. And the intersection of Fourth and La Crosse, right outside City Hall, is filled with enough potholes to keep area alignment shops busy. La Crosse occasionally fills potholes, but doesn’t do a very good job of it. City crews tend to just dump some hot asphalt down and move on to the next pothole. But add rain, and car traffic, and most of that hot asphalt is gone often in a matter of days. How about actually packing the tar down so it can settle rather than getting kicked up by car tires? The city of La Crosse should follow Milwaukee’s lead and set up a pothole hotline. But they better make sure they have enough staff. That phone will be ringing off the hook.