Mayor Brown Provides Update Of Pothole Repair Guarantee Program

Mayor Byron W. Brown today provided an update of the Mayor’s 48-Hour Pothole Repair Guarantee program, which was launched on February 7, 2007. The initiative was aimed at repairing potholes throughout Buffalo as expeditiously as possible and especially following receipt of information on existing potholes from citizens.  The program continued the Brown Administration’s effort to improve the quality of life for Buffalo’s residents and provide an immediate response to calls for service.

“At the time of the announcement last year, I stated that we all know what the freeze-thaw cycle can do to our streets and this past winter has been particularly harsh on streets across the city,” Mayor Brown said. “And while potholes are a problem in every northern city that experience the swing in temperatures between winter and spring, my Administration wanted to ensure our residents, businesses and visitors that we would respond swiftly to calls related to potholes located anywhere in the city.  Since launching this program, our crews have filled over 5,500 potholes in Buffalo and used 452 tons of cold patch in the pothole repair process.”

The process has essentially worked as follows: once a call comes into the Mayor’s Call and Resolution Center, city crews will within 24 hours examine the targeted pothole, and either repair it right away, or, if it requires more substantial work, ensure that it is repaired in 48 hours.

Seven permanent repair crews comprised of street repair workers and laborers (which can be expanded to up to 9 crews with seasonal workers in the spring/summer) form the Mayor’s Pothole Repair unit.

One-man crews have been assigned to residential streets, while two-man crews have worked on busier, major roadways.

The only exception to the pothole guarantee has been during weekends and holidays, since crews do not work on Saturdays or Sundays.  Calls to service received on weekends or holidays are attended to on the following workday.

“Potholes can cause serious problems in the winter, such as accidents and damage vehicles,” said Acting Commissioner Stepniak.  “Our Department continues to give pothole repairs top priority when we receive information from the public or through our own field survey work.”

Anyone can report potholes by calling 851-4890 or registering their information on-line at www.city-buffalo.com.