Mayor Sam Adams’ office sent out a press release yesterday saying Adams “will be personally filling in potholes and introducing new signs to encourage Portlanders to report potholes” this afternoon. The goal is to “increase the number of people utilizing an existing service that saves the city money in the long-term through preventive maintenance.”
That’s all fine and well. But behind the press release is some real news that the mayor’s not likely to mention.
Such as this finding from an August 2008 City of Portland audit by then-Auditor Gary Blackmer:
The report goes on to specify how money for street preservation has been spent over the years on other, unrelated expenses, including parking meters (like the out-of-order ones pictured above and below.) The mayor has overseen the Bureau of Transportation since 2005, when he was first elected a commissioner:
A quick glance at the mayor’s 2009-2010 budget gives us even more information about the cuts that have taken place in PBOT just this year. Taken together, they total $5.4 million. Since 2000, they’ve totaled $42.2 million.
This year, various projects faced significant cuts, including:
Local street pavement surface treatments lost $550,000
Street preservation treatments lost $459,000
Traffic maintenance signs and markings lost $250,000
Residential sidewalk inspections lost $415,000
The entire program of installing speed bumps on residential streets was eliminated, saving $150,000.
Residential street cleaning lost $800,000.
All things to keep in mind as Adams shovels gravel this afternoon. The press event takes place at 3 pm on Southeast Caruthers Street between SE 11th and SE 12th avenues.
One footnote: The city is replacing about 275 out of 1,060 parking meters in the coming weeks. Each replacement meter costs about $6,000, according to PBOT.
- Sam Adams’ Deal With Parking “Don” Dick Singer The North
- Mayor Fills Single, Nine-Month-Old Pothole. Angels Sing. Fun times
- Adams’ Admission Reaction: Mayor Repentant at City Hall Press Conference A somber
- Adams’ Admission Reaction: Supporters Plan Noon Press Conference at City Hall Here
- Mayor Sam Adams’ Latest DC Trip The last t
I’m not suprised that people hate and vandalize those parking meters. I paid $5 for parking, but because I had put the sticker on the drivers side and not on the curb side, they gave me a $24 ticket. Such a rip off, I applaud anyone who destroys those meters; until Portland makes parking fair and not a scam Parking Trap, I imagine those meters will be destroyed daily, and rightfully so!
Failure on your part to follow simple written instructions does not equal “a scam Parking Trap.”
Even more reasons to Support the Recall.
I like Adams’ insinuation that potholes are going unrepaired because people aren’t reporting them. Like he’s cleaning up after us and scolding, “You people should know that there are existing services to take care of these things. You’re not reporting these potholes is costing the city big money, people! I’m going to put up signs to remind you that you have a responsibility here!”
And of course he wouldn’t discuss the auditor’s report of his own poor management. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t trot out his astonishing line, “I couldn’t tell you the truth because you wouldn’t have believed me.”
Everything is somebody else’s fault with this guy. The reasons to recall him are simply too numerous to count. Watching the recall fail is sure going to be depressing, but not nearly as depressing as living with this sort of nonsense for another three years. Ugh.
Sorry Steve R. – but these parking meters are CRAP and you know it. The City had perfectly okay coin fed meters which were replaced by these electronic wonders. Nothing like having to walk half a block in the rain and then back to your vehicle just to park for a few minutes is these Stevie Boy? Did it ever dawn on you that most cities DON’T use these pieces of CRAP for their parking meters?
Get out your super glue folks and be my guest!
[...] Fun times at Mayor Sam Adams’ press conference on potholes this afternoon. [...]
“What we have here is a failure to communicate”… Give SAM some mirrored aviator shades so he can tell us allwhat to do. A parking meter that only never accepts CC’s or coins , not dollar bills? I suppose the dollar bills are the Toilet Paper in Leonard’s LOO that freezes over. MENTAL AGE OF BOTH 5 MAX. Leaf pick up NAH. TAX IT!. Potholes NAH! Bike racetrack lanes! Sellwood Bridge, NAH, COUPLET! Convention center Hotel? SURE SURE. I-5 Bridge? YES NO MAYBE BIKES RAIL I FORGET! GAMES AND CIRCUSES PARKS? SURE SURE! Haven’t you seen this before ? The Hudsucker Proxy! Man the Coen Brothers should be running this city. New motto” The Shitty that shirks”.DON”T TALK ABOUT THE RECALL_JUST DO IT AS GARY GILMORE TOLD PHIL KNIGHT!
http://www.citizenrecall.org/joomla/
How many months has it been since your street was cleaned? In SE — close in — the weeds are growing over the road surfaces, worsening the cracks. Broken glass and other detritus make driving — car or bicycle — an arduous trip through an obstacle course. But I suppose simple maintenance of the infrastructure is not a sufficient photo op for our alleged mayor.
I’ve called the BUMP number four times for a three block length of street that had 38 pot holes. First call was made in March when 3 holes were repaired and the two man crew left. Two months later I called again and left a five minute message explaining the type and location of the holes. One month later a crew came out and repaired four more and left. I called again and talked directly to the supervisor and explained the situation and offered to meet him and mark all the potholes remaining. A week later he came out and marked the remaining holes with white spray paint (I’m sure PDOT acquired the paint legally). I called him to thank him for his attention. It is now three months later and not one of the remaining potholes are repaired. Why call Sam? He’s just a media mogul, loves attention and claims he has your interest at heart.
What I like so much is THE TRUTH OUTS. All these phony photo ops and no comment KATU crapstories give way to the plain simple lies upon lies. Get with it. 20 years of dealing with this city=s one burrowing crap artist after another. You are paying big bucks for navel gazing at its best and plain old publick werks masturbation far more likely. Look at your water an sewer rates,http://www.citizenrecall.org/joomla/
Lessee:
Money for high-tech meters that break a lot, streetcars, trams, MAX, soccer stadium, downtown (between I-405 and the river).
No money for schools, potholes, Sellwood bridge.
Why do I have a sense of jarring cognitive dissonance?
One more thing on the parking meters:
“Please pay with SMART card or change”
Who the heck has a SMART card or $2 worth of change?