Want the latest on Panama City potholes? Officials are making a list with repair updates
PANAMA CITY — Residents might soon get updates on the pesky potholes in their neighborhoods.
Panama City officials have announced that they would be working on publishing a public list of priority projects and when they anticipate getting to them, so residents can stay updated.
This idea formed during Tuesday's city commission meeting when some residents discussed potholes they’ve encountered in their neighborhoods. Resident Rufus Wood said one of his neighbors had come to a meeting prior, bringing awareness to a large pothole on 10th Street.
"There's a large hole, I mean, I understand it's deep," Wood said. "And there's a sign out there but that's been four or five months ago. There has been nothing done to address that."
Wood said it feels like Millville is being neglected and the community is not happy. He said he'd like to see more done in the Millville community and its roads.
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Resident James Barker mentioned a pothole on 13th Street, near to Bay High School. He said it would be very easy for a car or a school bus to drive into it and get damaged.
"I know we put barriers up there but somehow they get knocked off to the side and people don't see it," Barker said. "And when it's raining, they can't see the hole."
The commissioners listened to each resident and said they were sympathetic to their experiences. Commissioner Jenna Flint-Haligas said she has been taking photos of the different potholes and posting them on social media.
"I see these guys working every day on leaks and holes and all that," Flint-Haligas said during the meeting. "It's just that it's so vast and I don't think people realize they’re in every community and everybody's upset about them."
City Manager Mark McQueen said the city has been challenged by how Hurricane Michael damage has impacted infrastructure.
"The waterlines, sewer lines, which are degraded because of the storm and because of that, we now have more potholes than we've had before," McQueen said. "There's not a problem with the asphalt, it's the base underneath the asphalt that's failing. And it's failing because of broken water lines or sewer lines."
McQueen, as well as the residents, thanked the team that has been out fixing potholes in the roads, saying that they are working hard to address concerns.
"We're working very diligently to address all of them," McQueen said. "It takes a lot of time to fix these areas because it's not just putting an asphalt patch. It's solving the problem underneath it, so it doesn't continue."
McQueen said the list should be posted to the city’s website, pcgov.org, by the end of the week.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Florida to update public on projects like pothole repair
