City potholes: Duck ponds or bomb craters?

Byline: Bob Welch The Register-Guard

Only in Eugene would you ask readers to name their worst potholes and have letter-writers rush to the holes' defense. Get philosophical about them, as if potholes were to 21st-century Eugene families what the Continental Divide was once to 19th-century Oregon Trail travelers.

Anna Marmati sent an e-mail titled, "Potholes can be your friends! (Our street's potholes) turn our street into a wildlife sanctuary. When the potholes fill with water, birds use them as a giant birdbath. I've seen ducks swimming in them. It's pretty quiet out in front of my house, without cars zipping by. It can get dusty in the summer, but I've put in butterfly bushes to cut down on that and attract more birds and wildlife."

Pete Forsman argued in defense of shoddy streets for a different reason. He referred to the unimproved west end of Jeppesen Acres Drive, a popular shortcut between Coburg Road and Gilham Road and heavily used by Sheldon High students, who walk in the roadway due to a lack of curbs and sidewalks.

"Hurried drivers weave among students during heavy-use hours," he wrote. "Thank goodness for the potholes to help slow them down! There are numerous examples of such streets in this area of town, and I maintain that the potholes are a blessing in disguise." Until, he says, there's money for permanent fixes.

Who knew that there was a pro-pothole faction? People who see them as sanctuaries? Who see them as nature's speed bumps?

Ingrid Olson philosophized about individual determination and the pothole. "I seem confused. When my dirt road had potholes I didn't wait for the city to fix them. I filled them myself with gravel. If I couldn't get the rocks, I just scraped the loose stuff off the side of the road into them. If I had waited for the city, I would not have been able to get into my driveway. Do these people not have shovels? I didn't have the money to pay for improvements also, but I didn't let that stop me."

But what about the original question: Where are Eugene's worst potholes? A few dozen readers sent in recommendations. Among the nominees:

` `The Pits of Bailey Hill.' Bailey Hill Road from West 11th Avenue to just past Churchill High. I watch through my rearview mirror and behind me the other cars follow my lead through the tire eaters and rim slashers.'

` `Whiplash Alley.' West Seventh Alley, between Tyler and Van Buren. I own Independent Physical Therapy on Seventh, and I have to caution my patients not to leave via the alley, lest they undo my good work."

"Ash Street. I have a friend who lives on this street and I can't drive down it in my Mustang; I have to park and walk."

"Robin Avenue at the west end of it, where it connects with Ruskin. After it's rained, the potholes look more like bomb craters filled with water."

"As an LTD bus operator, I can suggest the two worst streets on our routes are Riverview Street, east of Hendricks Park, and Elmira Road in the Bethel area. These streets make our 20 newest buses rattle, shake, bounce and pound just like our oldest models."

"Olive Street, between 31st Street and Prall Lane, is a really good place for drivers to avoid."

"Arcadia Drive, north from Harlow Road to the beginning of the new (expensive) Meltebeke houses: a local disgrace."

"Country Club Road between Sand Avenue and Willagillespie. Complaints have resulted only in filling the potholes, which quickly break down."

`Have you ever tried driving down Inglewood Avenue between Tabor and Norkenzie? It's becoming a gravel road from all the bad patching that's been done when cars threaten to disappear! The rest of the avenue is kept up. Meanwhile, we just keep doing the `Inglewood Slalom.' '

So there you have it, a sampling that reminds us that Eugene residents are just like its roads: diverse. One person looks at a pothole and sees a trip to Eugene Auto Body. Another sees a duck sanctuary.

Go figure.