GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (June 13, 2014) — After losing a tire, Kevin Fish is frustrated that West Michigan roads might not get fixed anytime soon. State lawmakers failed to pass legislation for state road funding Thursday night.
“If I have to pay a little extra to get these holes taken care of, so that it wouldn’t cost me $222 per tire. I’d be certainly interested in donating whatever it is, if it’s going to be in taxes or at the fuel pump, whatever it might be that the decide,” Fish said.
A pothole took out his Ford’s left rear tire last February.
“I’m dodging those everyday. Kind of working the traffic to make my sure that you can get around them and this particular moment, particular trip going down, I failed to see it and ran right in the midst of it,” he explained.
His tire was sliced on Maryland Avenue.
“There was a one inch cut straight through on the side wall,” Fish illustrated.
He said his commute felt like an obstacle course before the potholes were finally patched.
“Cost me about $220, just for one tire,” he said.
Fish said he quickly filed a claim with the city of Grand Rapids. However, it got denied. He said he was told the city wasn’t informed about the pothole and therefore can’t be held responsible for not repairing it.
“It kind of frustrated me to know that that had to be previously reported for them to be able to pay out that claim,” Fish said.
Right now, the city is trying to fix the streets after passing a proposal in May for a $22 million initiative. However, city officials are still waiting for $6 million from the state and may not get it if state lawmakers fail to come to an agreement on a roads bill.
