Several streets in Prince Albert are getting a failing grade from the city's public works department. It says more than $1 million worth of repairs is needed to get them back into shape. Prince Albert city council has voted to pay half the cost of repairs
Colin Innes, from the Department of Public Works, says the roads tend to get worse in the spring. "In the spring here we've seen all kinds of failures related to frost boils and things raveling apart and potholes."
Things have become so bad, the city has put six city blocks on its immediate failure list.
Initially the department was asking for $1.1 million for repairs. But city council voted in favour of half that amount. And since they have no remaining cash from this year's budget, the projects are being put on hold until 2012.
"What we'll be able to do over the next year is to maintain a drivable surface. Now that doesn't mean that it'll look pretty, but it'll mean that you can drive your car on it. The thing is you don't want to leave it for a protracted period of time because it's failing so it's only going to get worse," says Innes.
City councilor Lee Atkinson says that while street repairs are necessary, proposed work on the parking lot at the Art Hauser Centre is not. "I think someone tried to squeeze in the parking lot as just a - oh here's a good way that we can get the parking lot fixed that's been sitting there for the last five years and I'm like - why did that even get in there?"
Repairs on the lot would have cost half a million dollars alone - but it was voted down by council. Atkinson says there are other city streets in greater need of repairs. The road along 3rd Avenue East and 22nd Street has degraded to the point that chunks of it are lying in the gutters.
The streets have become so bad that residents may have some pricey car repairs in the future. Potholes and damaged roads can cause problems with the tires, suspension, shocks, and can cause failure on the vehicle. And these damages can cost hundreds, or even thousands of dollars to repair.
