Alley potholes in Colorado Springs frustrating to drivers, citizens; repairs challenging for city crews

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The focus for many drivers tends to be on dodging numerous potholes on city streets and roads, but alley potholes may be a more unfamiliar part of the infrastructure.

The city has hundreds of alleys -- especially on the west side -- with some paved and some unpaved; in fact, because of the number of alleys there, the city has a crew regularly assigned to provide maintenance.

For elsewhere in the city, officials ask citizens to report alley potholes the same way they report street and road potholes; by calling the public works office or using the GoCOS! smartphone app.

Corey Farkas, the city's public works operations and maintenance manager, said that crews will respond as soon as they can -- based on available staffing and resources -- which could take from a few days to a few weeks, or even longer.

"We have to be very careful when we get into alleys because (they) were constructed many years ago and in a lot of cases, the alley can be higher than the houses that sit next to it," he explained. "And so, the last thing we want to do is send a whole bunch of rushing water off -- especially after a weekend like we just had -- into somebody's back door by paving an alley and speeding up water. So, there's a lot that goes into it."

What you may not realize is that some alleys aren't just dark places where nothing good happens, or are used as shortcuts; they are the only ways in and out of neighborhoods where street parking doesn't exist.

One of those neighborhoods is an alley behind Union Boulevard between Paseo Road and Van Buren Street, where residents and business owners said that they'd been trying to get potholes filled for weeks -- until a city crew finally showed up last week.

"About six months ago, the big trash trucks came through," said Shirley Fallis, a 90-year-old resident. "They're heavy and it causes a problem. And they not only have the potholes down here, they're starting to get them at the other end, too. When I came out last week, I asked (the crew) if they were filling the potholes and they said yes. I'm so thankful to the city for doing it."

Another neighbor likely to be pleased is Dale Sanchez, who owns a barber shop on the block.

"Some of my customers (were) complaining about the fact that they're coming through these potholes and it's doing damage to their vehicles," he said. "So, unfortunately, my business has gone down because of the fact people (couldn't) get through here."

Farkas said that officials regularly evaluate alleys to determine if they require resurfacing, but that it's not done frequently because it would add to the city's already-significant maintenance duties.

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