Ventura’s 10 Nasty Potholes : Roads: A list has been compiled by proponents of two ballot measures.

They have been dubbed the potholes that ate Ventura.

We’ve all run into them. They are the little holes that jolt our cars and make us spill hot coffee on our laps. We try to avoid them but somehow we never can.

Some of them are deep and ugly. Some of them are little more than dents in the road. But they are equally loathsome to many residents, especially those crusading for increased road taxes.

A top 10 list has been compiled to identify the stretches of streets in Ventura where these nasty potholes seem to have been breeding like bunnies.

The list was released Friday by proponents for Propositions 108 and 111, a rail transit bond initiative and a gasoline tax measure designed to provide local governments with money to repair deteriorating streets.

Proponents say the 9-cent-per-gallon tax, which is on the June 5 ballot, would provide cities in Ventura County with more than $4 million annually to fix and maintain streets and roads.

Supporters of the measures, including the Automobile Club of Southern California, said they unveiled the list of pothole-marked streets to dramatize the need for money to repair the roadways.

While some of the potholes singled out by the anti-pothole people were barely visible, it didn’t stop the pre-election publicity effort.

As David Letterman would say: “Can I have a drum roll, please?”

1. Lemon Grove Avenue between Main Street and Channel Drive.

2. Loma Vista Road between Mills Road and Brent Street.

3. Cameron Street east of Lewis Street.

4. East Kellogg Street east of Ventura Avenue.

5. East Barnett Street east of Ventura Avenue.

6. Warner Street east of Ventura Avenue.

7. Poli Street between Crimea and Santa Rosa streets.

8. Seaward Avenue between Thompson and Harbor boulevards.

9. Telephone Road between Victoria and Sterling avenues.

10. Day Road between Foothill and Loma Vista roads.

Ventura public works officials said the list does not necessarily represent the worst streets, just those that require the most immediate attention.

The city of Ventura alone would receive $607,000, and city officials have promised that the money will go toward eliminating the annoying cavities on these streets.

Proposition 111, a phased-in gas tax increase is designed to help finance a 10-year, $18.5-billion transportation improvement and congestion relief program. Proposition 108, which goes into effect only if Proposition 111 also passes, authorizes $1.9 million in state rail bonds.

The average American driver spends about 20 minutes on the road every day, and each year deteriorating streets cost drivers about $100 annually in wear and tear on tires and shock absorbers, said Ron Quintana, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

And that doesn’t take into account the cost of dry-cleaning to remove the coffee stain from your pants.