Nobody likes the feeling of their gut sinking into the pit of their stomach when their car makes an abrupt bump in the middle of the road, leaving their tire possibly punctured or cracked. Unfortunately, that is the day-to-day reality of hundreds of drivers in Kleberg County who have no other option or way to avoid certain streets to get to where they need to go.
In rural and residential areas, such as Ricardo and smaller neighborhoods surrounding TAMUK, upkeep of local infrastructure continues to disappoint residents and damage vehicles.
Even the most minor breaks in the pavement can cause a massive inconvenience. Failure to repair these potholes properly will only result in more work for the city’s Public Works Department and cost the county or city more money to continue fixing the issue by only putting a band-aid on it time and time again.
Potholes are typically fixed with hot asphalt (blacktop material), which is why it is an extensive process. Urgency is out the window at this point. There comes a time when change is so necessary that the time that it takes to actually solve the issue is the least of the people’s concern.
Kingsville city commissioners are constantly discussing how they want to beautify the city to make it more appealing and more valued by current residents and travelers, yet they continue to neglect less populated areas.
It’s obvious that the City of Kingsville and its Street Improvement Program and Kleberg County only focus on other areas in town andthe county, which only furthers the stigma that smaller and more rural areas hold, which is that compared to busier streets, they are insignificant.
Ricardo and surrounding areas are not just back roads that people can take when they want to avoid traffic.
These places are people’s homes. People should feel safe and comfortable in their home and that starts by fixing the roads to get there in the first place.
For more information and ways to report potholes in your Kingsville neighborhood, contact www.cityofkingsville.com and click on the “I want to” tab, followed by the Request and Pothole Repair buttons.
