Durham to fix roads with a ... cartoon character?

From the "Whaaa?" department here at BCR: from the desk of one of the N&O's Fantastic (Durham) Four, Jim Wise, comes a blog entry on Monday evening alerting us all to one aspect of the City's new approach to solving the perennial complaints about our surface streets:

"The character above is the symbolic mascot for "Operation Green Light: Smoother Roads for Durham" -- a public-relations campaign upon which Durham's governing authorities are about to embark, to make citizens feel better about what City Hall is doing to improve the lamentable condition of the Bull City's streets," writes Wise.

Yes, we now have a mascot for getting the roads fixed. Which should make us feel... er, better?

Not that I have a problem with the City using P.R. campaigns, mind you. The City has spent significant dollars on water conservation education, but that happened around a problem which was also actionable, in the form of rebates for water-conserving toilets and the like. And given that Durham's water use is off by a quarter over last year, it seems to be sticking.

In full candor, it is very possible that the City has a similar actionable plan to back up Mr. GreenLight here. (Look for more on this topic, Wise promises us, in this Saturday's edition of The Durham News.)

But, man, does Durham have a long way to go with its roads.

There's no better place to start than with the North Carolina Benchmarking Project, which compares metro Charlotte, Triangle, and Triad cities with other smaller cities throughout the state, allowing municipalities to see where their services stand against other communities.

And when it comes to roads, Durham's data are bumpier than the Cross-Bronx Expressway... rockier than a mile-long gravel road... muddier than a Bahama driveway on a rainy day.

Just plain awful. As in, the city's streets are on a forty-one year repaving cycle, versus the twenty year cycle desired in some older City P.R. materials. (In spirit of full urban disclosure, that same P.R. piece notes that current funding from '07 would allow no more than an 80-year cycle.)

Forty-one years. Meaning that if your street is getting paved right now, mathematically, the original "Star Trek" was on the air and LBJ was in the White House last time the trucks came through.

The graph on the left is just an ugly number. In 2004, Durham was below-average -- but at least close to the average -- in the number of street segments rated 85% or better. By 2007, it's almost 50% behind the average of peer communities.

At the same time, the percentage of potholes repaired within 24 hours has plunged to less than one in five even as the state percentage is close to 90%.

And even with increased spending, Durham's asphalt maintenance and repair numbers still lag well behind state averages -- though I suppose an improvement from one-third the other cities' averages to two-thirds is some kind of progress:

Not that there aren't steps the City has taken.

In the FY06 budget letter, then-City Manager Patrick Baker noted that "The Managed Competition Citizen Advisory Board will continue to identify efficiencies that will enable the City to do more with less. The committee is focusing on the City’s pothole repair program to improve the condition of our streets."

(That "less" appears to be staffing, as in FY06 Durham's asphalt maintenance and repair FTEs per 10,000 residents dropped from 50% above the benchmark average to just above average.)

By FY07? "Two new specialized pothole repair trucks will allow us to more efficiently repair streets," wrote Baker in his message to Council.

And by FY08? "Two additional street maintenance crews will be funded in late FY 2007-08 to address non-resurfacing repairs, patching and pothole work and improve service request completion." Back to the future, man.

Which is why I'm a tiny bit curious about the arrival of this "Operation Green Light."

It's far too easy, and far too unfair, to write off something like this without seeing what it's all about, or without giving the City the benefit of the doubt.

If the City administration does in fact have a secret ace up its sleeve, more power to it. But I'd like to see a pretty solid plan for fixing the streets accompany our new little mascot.

Comments

[Bo Harrison]

This is ridiculous... can I get it in a beefy tee xl? :0)

[Todd]

The ace up their sleeve is called 'bond money'. The question is when the City will ever get around to using it.

http://www.durhamnc.gov/cip/bond2007.cfm

On 11/6/07, Durham voters approved $20 million to repave 100 miles of city streets, pave 1.2 miles of dirt streets, and repair 3 miles of sidewalks.

It's been almost a year since the bond was approved. Construction costs continue to rise, but none of this bond money has been spent yet. We are still spending the 2005 bond money.

The best PR is those 'Your Bond Money at Work' signs on projects that are actually getting done. But getting there sure is a drawn out process.

[Floyd McKissick's Pet Monkey Kelly]

I love that little guy -- he looks like a penis in a hard hat!

Let's get to work!

[Valerie]

He is totally cute. I love him. How creative!

[Joshua Allen]

Whoever created this character should be fired and replaced with people who actually fix roads. This is why our city has potholes... too many administrators and not enough people who actually get the job done.

[Tar Heelz]

Bond money for maintenance projects. Brilliant. Durham's plan is using capital fund monies to fund operating expenses.

[weege]

A mascot & PR campaign for water conservation during an extreme drought is understandable, but this? What purpose does this serve? This is a complete waste of money that should have been used to actually fix our streets.

[durhamwalkingdog]

wow, stunning use of clip art.