Colorado Springs hires 12 employees to increase number of pothole repair crews
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Shortly after his election two years ago, Mayor Yemi Mobolade said that he wanted more crews repairing potholes on city streets and roads.
He announced that he had achieved that goal on Thursday, at the annual State of the City address, held at The Broadmoor.
“I recently added 12 new crew members to our pothole response teams so that we can respond more quickly and effectively,” he told his audience.
Mobolade said the most common complaint he hears from citizens is to do a better job of filling potholes.
The city has eight dedicated, full-time pothole crews and can increase that number to 12 when necessary.
Still, the mayor emphasized that officials depend on the public to report potholes that repair crews may be unaware of.
“And we have made it easier for you to help,” Mobolade revealed. “Last month, we rolled out the new and improved GoCOS app — a one-stop shop where you can report potholes, graffiti, broken sidewalks, downed trees, park maintenance issues, and more than 90 other non-emergency concerns. Think of the GoCOS app as your pothole app. Be our eyes because your reports do make a difference.”
The mayor added that filling potholes is only a temporary solution, and that’s why he thanked voters for their continued support of the taxpayer-approved sales tax increase to fund expanded street repaving.
That 2C program, created by the previous mayor, John Suthers, was initially approved in 2015, renewed in 2020, and was renewed again — for ten years — last fall.
In the early years of 2C, officials said that it would take time to see a significant decline in pothole numbers because the city had fallen so far behind in street maintenance.
“This initiative will invest $820 million into our roads and extend their lifespan,” Mobolade said.
Many citizens were surprised at how high the number of pothole repairs was at the beginning of 2C — in some years approaching or surpassing 100,000.
After crews filled 60,000 potholes in 2022, the figure increased to 85,000 in 2023, and again last year, to 94,000; with three months remaining in this year, the number is 52,000.