Progress made on pesky potholes on private property in Colorado Springs area

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Road Warrior has occasionally reported on the frustration felt by drivers coping with persistent potholes in parking lots, on access roads and service drives, or on other privately owned and managed property.

But there's recent progress to share on two private areas with notoriously bad potholes.

One location is what KRDO first began reporting on in 2014 — Sonic Drive, the access road between the Sonic restaurant and the Texas Roadhouse along 8th Street.

A parcel search on The El Paso County Assessor's Office website indicates that Sonic owns the road, and The Road Warrior left a message with the company a month ago to ask when the potholes will be filled.

There was no immediate response, but since then, the only response that really matters came; ten large pothole areas are now patched — including one so deep that someone used nearby landscaping stones to fill it.

Sonic also repaired the same potholes previously after inquiries by KRDO 13, but they re-developed and had continued to worsen for several years as drivers became accustomed to swerving around them.

Drivers likely are now wondering whether the repairs will spread next door, to an access road beside a Shell gas station and the Texas Roadhouse; that road has worsening potholes and severely cracked pavement.

A county parcel search shows that Shell owns the road, and The Road Warrior has also left messages with Shell and Texas Roadhouse to ask about that pothole situation.

Earlier this week, The Road Warrior received an email from a viewer complaining about numerous and deep potholes in a shopping center parking lot along Main Street and Security Boulevard, in Security Widefield, which is just southeast of the city.

"The potholes are twice as big now, and some areas of the shopping center are almost impassable," the viewer wrote. "This is 100% unacceptable."

The two worst potholes are at the entrance on Security Boulevard, and there are also two areas of deteriorating pavement around — coincidentally — the Sonic restaurant there.

"(Potholes are) wreaking havoc on all the vehicles around here," said resident Amber Beckner. "I just had my tires replaced around two months ago, due to that pothole right there. How much? I spent about 400 dollars."

Such potholes certainly aren't safe for riders of an electric unicycle — like Joshua Phillips.

"I hit a pothole once that I didn't see in the dark," he recalled. "The entire wheel went down into the hole and threw me off at about 25 mph. I ended up in the ER later and my wife was not happy."

The owner of the property deserves some credit, however, for filling many of the potholes there; some appear to be recent patches.

The Road Warrior is awaiting a response from the property manager about when the two worst potholes will be fixed.

Many people don't take the time or trouble to find out who owns the private property where they shop, that has potholes; however, a parcel search on you county assessor's website will indicate who owns the property, and you can contact that entity to file a complaint.

Be aware, however, that such properties may or may not be owned by the business where the potholes are; many are overseen by management companies located in other cities or states.

Also, know that it may take some time for a property owner or manager to respond to pothole complaints.

To report potholes on public streets, roads, and highways, contact your local city, county, or state government office.