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View Full Version : Pothole laws? Suing the city... Traffic lawyers?



Hakkola
02-23-2004, 11:25 PM
Just wondering, as is my understanding, where there are potholes there has to be a sign to warn about them like I see on Glenmore trail all the time. There's never been a sign here.

Any body who drives through Pumphill knows THE SHITTY road. Yeah, that one.

We tried having a petition last year or the year before to get that road paved but to no avail, because of the shitty potholes I've had some more wear on my car and had to replace some things last year suspension wise. Feels like I need to do it again.

I figure the best way to get them to pave the road and get a new suspension would be to sue the city... Kill 2 birds with one stone...

I think there might be problem, the road is privately owned, (or so I'm lead to believe), but the land in the corner has just been bought for development.

Is there anything I can do? Any one know of a good lawyer to handle this kind of thing, or if it's even worth getting a lawyer for this?

Hash_man
02-24-2004, 12:09 AM
I would contact the people who just bought the land on the corner, I know who it is... And I know which road. Always surprised me that it had never been paved, especially being pump hill.

I don't think the road is privately owned, at least that is hard for me to beleive being a public street and all. Contact the new owners of the corner land, and try to get them to help you contact the city, and make them pave the corner.

rice_eater
02-24-2004, 12:29 AM
sue the city because you can't go around potholes or it's too hard for you to drive slow enough through them? give me a break man, you'd have to drive through some fuckin craters at fair speed to do much if any damage.

Hakkola
02-24-2004, 12:48 AM
I'm guessing you've never seen the road. Fucking craters is exactly what they are.

I've actually driven on the VERY side of the road, and still not been able to avoid them, in some cases they're a foot deep and you often can't see them under the HUGE puddles of water.

It's been "paved over" with gravel twice this week. My family has phoned the city probably 30 times + in the time we've lived here.

While some times it isn't that bad, try driving through it everyday, there's often people driving around the blind corner on the wrong side of the road because it's so bad.

I'd sue the city for two reasons, the first to help pay for new suspension, 2nd, to make sure they get around to actually paving the road, you'd be amazed what a lawsuit could do, imagine if I filed one and every other person in pumphill filed one, I'm sure they'd pave it in a hurry.

I'm not very concerned with money, I don't need help with my suspension, I just want my road paved.

I'd be surprised if it's private as well, but that's the word on the streets. The organization that bought the land is building a Condo I believe, not sure what the deal with the road would be. I think it's the only gravel public road in the city. I don't like it.

Any body that thinks it's not a big deal should drive down here on a warm day when the snow is melting or after it rains.

Hash_man
02-24-2004, 12:52 AM
Oh, well, i thought someone else had bought it... maybe I was wrong.

But ya, I could see a road like that in forest lawn or some shit, but in pump hill?! its pretty damn bad.

Hakkola
02-24-2004, 12:55 AM
I think somebody else did buy it maybe over a year ago or so, I noticed the horses weren't there anymore, but we got a flyer for the condo they're planning on building there...

If it is indeed owned by a private person and not a corporation I would not sue, and don't know even if I could, I would however like for the city to buy the land if that's the case.

Hash_man
02-24-2004, 01:10 AM
From what I had heard, someone else had bought it, and was going to take possetion once the horses croaked.

20incheyes
02-24-2004, 12:06 PM
I was driving to a buddies house on that road last night and thinking, what the fuck is wrong with these people in PUMPHILL that they accept driving on this road. Let us know how it comes through.

Hakkola
02-24-2004, 07:34 PM
Hahaha, they just "paved" it like 3 days ago, you should have seen it before, it was good last night compared to usual, heck, you should see it today, TERRIBLE.

Mckenzie
02-26-2004, 09:26 AM
You should be able to phone the pothole patrol and request service on the road. If you contact someone, and they say it is going to be a long time for a paving crew to get there, ask them if they can just fill it with QPR for a temporary fix. That stuff is great for short periods of time and they should know what it is.

But phone the city and request service on that road....

QPR

rice_eater
02-26-2004, 10:05 AM
Originally posted by Hakkola
I'm guessing you've never seen the road. Fucking craters is exactly what they are.

I've actually driven on the VERY side of the road, and still not been able to avoid them, in some cases they're a foot deep and you often can't see them under the HUGE puddles of water.

It's been "paved over" with gravel twice this week. My family has phoned the city probably 30 times + in the time we've lived here.


dude i know a lot about potholes...i grew up in Romania and there's craters in every road :D . NO ONE sues for their broken suspension coz everyone learns to go slowly through them when they can't avoid them. Here we EXPECT that all the roads should be in perfect shape and damn it they better be after all the taxes that we pay! My problem is not that you are trying to get the street paved, it's with you wanting to sue the city just because you dont have the patience to go through the holes slowly and therefor not wearing down your suspension.

ZorroAMG
02-26-2004, 10:36 AM
Dude, STFU until you've actually driven on that road with traffic behind you riding your ass and then tell us what you think. This ISNT Romania, we pay a shit load of taxes and the roads SHOULD be pothole free. :rolleyes:

rice_eater
02-26-2004, 11:17 AM
is that not what i said? Are you so insecure that you really give a shit about the asshole behind honking coz he can't wait? Who made it a rule that you have to go as fast as the guy behind you is pushing you to go? If i'm doing 120 on the highway and some asshole behind me wants to do 150 do i speed up just to make him happy? Fuck why not sue the corner 7-11 coz they have a high curb when you pull in their driving lot and it's ruining your suspension? Would you plow right into that parking lot just because you have people behind you? i have too much time to waste before class :nut:

ZorroAMG
02-26-2004, 11:45 AM
Hey, mr level headed neon driver, don't tell me you've NEVER made a quick driving decision because of traffic around you.

rice_eater
02-26-2004, 11:52 AM
of course i did! but i dont sue for the wear and tear on my car! If it's my conscious decision to go fast through potholes then i'll fork out the doe for the bill, especially since on most residential streets quick driving decisions are hardly a necesity.

"the roads should be in perfect shape and damn it they better be after all the taxes that we pay" ;)

Hakkola
02-26-2004, 11:58 AM
LOL.

The road has been "paved" over with gravel twice this week. What rice_eater doesn't seem to understand is that in 8 years of my family and other families in the area calling the city they have never paved it properly and suing the city is seemingly the only to get it paved.

READ CAREFULLY: I have money, I do not need money for a new suspension, I'd only do this to make the city pave the road properly.

The 7-11 example is very different from my road, come down to pumphill and drive on it today, it's like driving through moguls, it's not just one pot hole here or there, they're every where on that section of road.

My car is not an offroad vehicle, it doesn't matter how slow I go through them, it still shakes the car violently.

rc2002
02-26-2004, 12:08 PM
I've driven on that road a LOT of times, and it's every bit as bad as Hakkola says.

There's a pothole contest going on at Lite96 and somebody entered that road into that pothole contest. Last I heard, that road was winning as far as biggest potholes go in Calgary.

I heard that the reason why the road was not paved before was because it was not considered an urban roadway when the neighborhood was setup and so it wasn't necessary to pave it. I'm sure you could petition the city of Calgary to pave it now though. It sucks that Pumphill has some of the highest property taxes but all of it's roads suck. Even the road that goes up onto Palliser Drive sucks.

Hakkola
02-26-2004, 12:48 PM
We had a petition a couple years ago. Not sure how it worked and if the people who lived beside the road had more influence, but since then the Switzer house has burned down, so maybe it's worth trying again but I doubt it.

I haven't had much luck with petitions.

rc2002
02-26-2004, 12:53 PM
It's a good thing that there's deep pockets and nice cars in Pumphill. Maybe that's why the city doesn't spend money there.... :D

Seems that in the long run it'd be cheaper to repave rather than regravel every few months. :guns: Who's your alderman?

Hakkola
02-26-2004, 01:02 PM
They actually have to regravel more than once a month unless we have a dry spell in the summer, with the snow melting right now they'll have to regravel it once a week at least.

The alderman is Barry Erskine, I think.

ICEBERG
02-26-2004, 06:42 PM
I hit a pothole downtown last year so hard that it broke my rear sway bar in half. I was soooo Pi$$ed.Soon as i got home i called the city and they basicaly said sorry, asked me where the pothole was and they will fill it ASAP.:rolleyes: Next day i go by and the pothole was still there. :guns:

Tilly
02-26-2004, 07:08 PM
That's what you get for living in Ghetto Pump Hill!

BOWNESS!!:poosie:

hjr
02-26-2004, 07:18 PM
Originally posted by ICEBERG
I hit a pothole downtown last year so hard that it broke my rear sway bar in half. I was soooo Pi$$ed.Soon as i got home i called the city and they basicaly said sorry, asked me where the pothole was and they will fill it ASAP.:rolleyes: Next day i go by and the pothole was still there. :guns: they wont fix a pot hole in 1 day

girlRACER
02-26-2004, 07:28 PM
Originally posted by rice_eater
sue the city because you can't go around potholes or it's too hard for you to drive slow enough through them? give me a break man, you'd have to drive through some fuckin craters at fair speed to do much if any damage.

No....the road IS that bad. It's horrible. Everytime I drive through that even slow my car shakes violently too and there's barely enough room to drive around because so many people have driven around it there is a huge ditch there...and all the water does cover up all the potholes. That place is such a disaster and to have to go through that everyday for 8 years is just ridiculous. I don't think I've seen a community with such bad roads.

Hakkola
02-26-2004, 07:53 PM
Originally posted by ICEBERG
I hit a pothole downtown last year so hard that it broke my rear sway bar in half. I was soooo Pi$$ed.Soon as i got home i called the city and they basicaly said sorry, asked me where the pothole was and they will fill it ASAP.:rolleyes: Next day i go by and the pothole was still there. :guns:

Have to complain more. As is my understanding if there's a pothole that has been there for more than a day or something there has to be a sign to acknowledge that there are potholes ahead. Is this not true?

/////AMG
02-26-2004, 07:55 PM
Originally posted by Hakkola
I think there might be problem, the road is privately owned, (or so I'm lead to believe), but the land in the corner has just been bought for development.

Yo bro, that could be a really good reason for them not to fix up the road. Do you know if the building is going to be a commercial place or something huge?? If so, you'll expect a lot of traffic coming and going (never been to PumpHill so I don't know if thats the only way to get to that developing area). Because it would be a waste if they re-paved it and whatnot and then you have those huge ass machines and trucks. I dunno :dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

I just thought about that.


But if its really that bad as you explain it is, and it's not worth the wait. You just have to keep on complaining. Or post the number and we'll all phone and complain. :D

Hakkola
02-27-2004, 12:50 AM
The condo that I think they're building will be off 90th ave, on the opposite side of the building will be the shitty road, have no idea if the inner pumphill side will have an entrance to it, I can't see the neighbourhood letting that happen if they do indeed build a condo there, depending on the size of the development. I don't really know a whole lot about it.

I'll be sure to post the number up within the next couple days.