Potholes causing problems on Cleveland city streets leaving motorists to pay the price

CLEVELAND - Snowy conditions are causing potholes to pop up in area roadways and motorists are feeling the pinch in their pockets having to pay for repairs.

"It's life in Cleveland. Another couple hundred bucks down the drain," said driver Arthur Green who explained how he'd just gotten burned again thanks to potholes in city streets.

Calling Superior Avenue an "obstacle course," Green said it's the fourth time he's been to Safeway Tire and Car Care in recent months.

"It could cause front end damage, maybe a ball joint or things of that nature," said Safeway spokesman Warren Bradford. "You see cars on the side of the road with the wheels laying to the side. That's what happened," he explained.

Safeway said they're seeing three to four pothole victims a day, up from usually just one. Bradford said the faster you drive, the greater the impact of hitting potholes will be. Slowing down is his best precautionary advice.

"A customer hit a pothole in Cleveland and caused his rim to crack completely in half which is not repairable. He had to buy a new rim at the cost of $350," Bradford said.

Cleveland city workers spent part of their day patching up potholes. Officials said with the freeze-thaw cycles, temporary fixes are all they can do, which only provides temporary relief for motorists.
 
"I was swerving to miss a pothole, but there was a tractor trailer next to me so it was kind of hit the pothole or the tractor trailer. There are a lot a bad spots in Cleveland," another driver, Karl Greene, explained. "That was a no win situation so I took the pothole."

"They should do something about it," Green said. "I actually complained to the city and they offered me a refund of about $12. As you can see, my rims are about $400 a piece. There's nothing really you can do about it until they get out here in the spring and patch them."