TULSA, Okla. — Many Tulsans are frustrated over the number of potholes on city streets and how deep they are, causing flat tires, broken rims, and even alignment issues.
In the past, 2 News reported the best way to tell the city about them is by calling 311, but you might wonder what the process is when you call that number. So 2 News Oklahoma's Amanda Slee went through it to share with you.
On Monday, she was driving down 31st near the 169 and hit a big pothole while in the area for work. She was worried it did damage to the car's tire, but it didn't. Then she called the city 311 number.
When calling the city number, a person goes through some prompts to get to the operator. Once you get to that person, tell them the street location, direction of travel, and the lane the pothole is in.
The person on the line will ask for your name, phone number, address, and if you would like to provide an email to get a status update on your pothole report. Even if you don’t leave an email, you can get a case number to call back and ask for the status.
After reporting the pothole she hit on 31st near the 169, she saw city crews out filling it, and others, in within two hours. She spoke to a Tulsan as he watched the city fill the potholes in, but he says this isn’t the fix he would like to see.
“It’s a temporary fix. It’s not a permanent fix," Christopher Bruner said. "I mean its nice that they come out and do it but like I said its just temporary because that stuff will all come back out in three to four months and they will then have to come back out and do it again.”
Bruner says he has fallen victim to the potholes along 31st and it's costing him a couple hundred dollars for a tire and rim. Instead of just putting a band aid on the potholes, he says he'd like to see more done.
“I’d like to see them come out, shut down like half the road, and fix it the right way," he said. "Take it all the way back down and build a better road instead of coming out and just doing patch work every so often.”
There are many potholes on 31st beyond just the one 2 News Oklahoma's Amanda Slee reported. She did try to report a stretch of road she felt needs to be attended to, and what she learned is a report can only be made for a mile at a time. So, multiple reports would need to be made for each stretch of road you think city crews should look at.
After doing this process and seeing the results the same day, she encourages other Tulsans to take advantage of 311 and report potholes they come across driving the streets to make the road better for everyone.
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