Pueblo City Council to look into possible street repair plan
After receiving critical public feedback, the Pueblo City Council is set to continue discussions on major roadway concerns at the upcoming city council workshop.
Last week the 2018 City of Pueblo Community Survey was released. The seven page questionnaire was sent by mail to random households throughout Pueblo, with 446 of them getting mailed back to the group running the survey.
According to the responses, there has been a significant drop in satisfaction when it comes to maintaining the city’s roads. Also, responses say that the city needs to give more attention towards the poor conditions.
Pueblo residents like Donald Sutton couldn’t agree more. Sutton lives on Jerry Murphy Road, which has been on the city’s priority list for a while.
“These roads are bad, deteriorating, and there is speeding. The roads just look bad and they drive bad,” said Sutton. “If you look at the asphalt you can see where the vehicles have actually bottomed out.”
Other priority roads include Main Street, Northern Avenue, and Hudson Street.
Jerry Murphy Road is plagued with divots, especially near the intersections. Pueblo City Councilman Bob Schilling wants people to know that the city council hasn’t been playing around when it comes to poor road conditions.
Last June, they heard from a consultant who said the city would need to raise $3.5 million annually to properly fix the roads in Pueblo. It’s a price Schilling said was simply too steep. That’s why he and his fellow council members are working on a more affordable option that will focus on the roads that need help the most.
“We talked about some number that are simple, that won’t reach $3.5 million dollars,” said Councilman Schilling. “Can we get to $3.5 million? Yes. But we would make a mistake if we start from the top down.”
Schilling wouldn’t give details of the proposal but says the city council will be discussing the plan at the next workshop.
For Sutton, any solution is welcome, as long as it comes with change.
“Fix them!” said Sutton. “Fix the potholes fix the road conditions and put something up for the speeding.”
