Double Yellow Lines on the Moon?

This crater-pocked site is not really on the moon. It is on West Eighth Street, one of many ranked as "very poor" when engineers reviewed the condition of city streets in 2004.

A five-year road improvement plan was launched in 2005 and West Eighth was in the second phase, slated for 2006. Nearby Evergreen Avenue, in similar condition, was also on the Year 2 list, but drivers say it is still in very bad shape.

Plaintalker filed an OPRA request recently for written reports of City Council committees that were to address specific issues, as per council rules adopted in 2006. They included Finance and five Special Oversight Committees for bridges, code enforcement, public safety and economic growth, road construction and technology. No reports had been filed.

Even though the committee system does not seem to be living up to its own stated requirements, the council made a complete set of appointments again in January. As noted in a prior post, the Roads Construction Oversight Committee consists of City Council President Harold Gibson and Councilmen Rashid Burney and William Reid. Perhaps in March the committee can give citizens an update on roadwork.

The engineers' ranking also indicated whether each road or portion of a road needed milling and resurfacing or reconstruction. West Eighth Street was deemed in need of reconstruction. The entire chart is on Councilman Burney's web site. Click here for the information. The plan is there, now all we need is an update on how things are going.

--Bernice Paglia