The roads in Sri Lanka, a developing country (previously known as a third world country, a term no longer used as it is offensive), seem to be in the same condition as roads in Lake County.
The roads in Sri Lanka villages (I lived in Sri Lanka for 14 years), were just a big a mess as roads in Lake County. Quite often roads that led to a politician’s house were paved to perfection. That doesn’t happen here in Lake County; not to my knowledge. If it did I’d live next door to a Supervisor.
With all the rainfall, driving on Lake County roads I’m sure jiggled my car battery loose. With the amount of rainfall received, there are deep potholes in the roads that I believe can ruin my tires and could even damage my car’s suspension, steering and wheels. Pretty scary out there.
Are we, the residents, supposed to wait and wait until our paved roads turn into gravel roads? Ones with drop offs?
My friend who lives in Santa Barbara has this view of roads there: “Roads here are full of potholes. Much worse than they’ve been in memory. But streets in my small neighborhood have recently been repaved for the first time in about 40-odd years. I distinctly remember the last time they were paved, my two sons (now in their 40s) were 18 months and 3 years sitting in their high chairs, eating breakfast on my front porch, watching the steam rollers go past.”
Are parts of Lake County supposed to wait 40 years?
A friend told me, “The roads are fine where I live in Kelseyville but in Lakeport from Third Street south on Main Street until you get to Soda Bay Road is pretty bad. They’ve tried to patch the potholes and it just leaves the street bumpy. I don’t use Main Street very often because of that. I think it’s because the city doesn’t have the money to fix the roads properly.”
Who pays for fixing roads?
Research shows that county roads are the responsibility of the county. State and federal roads are the responsibility of the state Department of Transportation, with federal funding on federal roads and a mix of funding on state highways.
I asked several other people about road conditions where they live and one woman said, “We’re a poor county and our roads reflect that. Kelsey Creek Drive is held together by patches.”
An artist friend said about the roads in Lower Lake, “We live on a small rural road. It’s an off-shoot from a more traveled county road. Didn’t used to be used that bad, however then the county permitted a commercial grow that has since tripled in size! The traffic on our street, trucks in and out, large numbers of employees working in shifts, has also tripled, or more. No one maintains our poor little street. Sometimes a resident will go along and fill the potholes but to no avail!! Why don’t the businesses that use our streets pay for their repair? We put up with the smell, the noise, the drain on our water supply and bad streets too? Poor planning.”
When I called Public Works (707.263.2341), I was told they are a “complaint-based” department that takes complaints on road conditions over the phone, online or at the counter. They’re located on the third floor of the Lakeport Courthouse.
I went to their website and finally found the link (www.lakecountyca.gov/748/Road-Complaints) for complaints. I actually found it easier just to call the department.
What’s a girl to do?…I filed a complaint about my street, so I’ll wait and see how long it will take for the one of three road crews to fix it. Exciting!
Lucy Llewellyn Byard welcomes comments and shares. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com