Opinion: The Pothole Queen at work

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In the latest salvo in the city’s war on potholes, city councilwoman Wendy Greuel filled a pothole on my block in Sherman Oaks this week. Literally.

Greuel, who’s known as the “Pothole Queen,” has earned kudos for her attention to the streets in our district. She showed up on ours on Wednesday wearing jeans and a neon vest, accompanied by an official Operation Pothole truck and construction equipment. Neighbors reported that her technique looked solid, as far as they could tell. The pothole in question—a shallow but wide chasm smack dab in the middle of the street—is now level, and as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

But one resident, a relative newcomer to the block, observed that this particular pothole had been filled before. “I hope they won’t count it twice when they report some huge number of potholes fixed,” she said. An old-timer commented that if the city really wanted to help us out, they’d improve the drainage on the street. We have to negotiate fearsome moats every time it rains.

My husband told a reporter covering the “event” that he “hadn’t really noticed” the pothole. Later he said he was kind of disappointed that the councilwoman had filled it, because it had been our poor-man’s speed bump, slowing down the impatient drivers who use our street as a cut-through. During earlier Operation Pothole/Operation Smooth Ride/etc. battles, the mayor reported that Angelenos spent $693 on road-condition-related car repairs each year. To date, our family has spent $0 on pothole damage. We spent over $1000 fixing our car when a minivan barreled down our street, broadsiding us as we backed out of our driveway.

Poor Greuel. This Pothole Queen business is thankless work. At least, in my neighborhood.