Fun With Pot Holes

Every year CAA posts a list of the worst streets in Ontario. Usually, the reason for the offensive street is lack of maintenance, or, the dreaded pothole.

During this past year there was a news item about Toronto residents who were growing tomatoes in a hole on their street. Farther afield, UK citizens have been planting flowers. Parisians have used yarn to add colourful images in the holes, and a Chicago artist has filled the holes with ice cream mosaics.

I was amused, (but then we were in a rental car, not our own), during a recent trip to Newfoundland. Not only do they have potholes which kind of hold the pavement together, the locals make fun of their circumstance.

People say things like "they send a crew out to put up caution pothole" or "potholes ahead" signs instead of just fixing them. True. For the most part though, the endless potholes aren't marked, whereas the dreaded moose crossings are clearly labelled.

In one town, Port aux Choix, the townspeople held a pothole protest. Evidence thereof remains at Ben's art studio. Ben also added his own, typically Canadian apology for visitors.

Our town is not immune to potholes. In fact, one particular spot has been growing in size in the lasts year or two to the point where it could have swallowed a small car. Perhaps it did.

I was running an errand recently when I noticed that an enterprising or frustrated person had tried their best to help solve a problem. Either that, or it was part of our new premier's austerity budget.

  The next two times I passed the same spot, it looked like this.

                                                     

Finally,  I was amazed and impressed that a few days later, the situation seemed to have been remedied.

Perhaps it was slated to be repaired anyhow. I prefer to think it was the efforts and ingenuity of  the person who came up with the clever and multifunctional warning that finally brought about action.