by Nicole Bradford
Pearland leaders say a plan is in the works to fix the city’s many aging streets as complaints about potholes and cracks continue to pile up.
“Our city doesn’t deserve this,” Cobblestone Subdivision resident Douglas Holloway told the city council during a February 12 public comment, describing children playing with crumbling concrete in front of his home.
“There’s still a crevasse at the crosswalk in front of Centennial Park between the splash pad and the disc golf park,” Holloway continued.
Longtime resident Katherine Henning said she had reported potholes along Broadway Street for months.
“It’s a disgrace. We have a wonderful community we live in,” she said. “Hopefully we can get it addressed before it becomes worse.”
A multi-year plan to address streets is scheduled to be presented at City Hall on March 25.
“It’s no secret we’ve been behind in street and quite frankly sidewalk repairs for quite some time,” Mayor Kevin Cole said.
“There needs to be a long-term plan, not a patch year after year after year.”
– David Lee, Longwood Drive resident
The mayor said he was not unhappy that multiple residents appeared to voice complaints about the streets.
“What you’re seeing is not acceptable. We don’t accept it,” Cole said. “If people grow complacent about potholes in front of their house, that’s not the city we want. We want to be better.”
Longwood Drive resident David Lee said he has spoken to the council at least twice about the state of his street.
“The pavement has split and separated about 4 inches vertically,” he said. “There needs to be a long-term plan, not a patch year after year after year.”
The streets plan will be based on a recent pavement conditions study and coordinated with drainage improvements since streets are often dug up to install storm drains.
The March 25 discussion will include options for funding and details of a 2023 pavement survey, said Eric Hammond, assistant public works director.
Using ground penetrating radar, surface measurements, and other methods, the survey assigns a grade to each roadway ranging from excellent to very poor. Overall, an estimated 65 percent were rated good or above, Hammond said.
“We’ve got to develop a short-term plan, a medium-term plan of what happens over the next couple of years, and then a long-term plan and how we fund it,” Cole said.
