By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Wearing jeans and a puffy vest, Mayor Jorge Elorza grabbed a shovel to pile hot asphalt into a pothole, then grabbed the handles of a compactor to fill big holes in Snow Street in the Downcity Arts district of Providence.
It was his third annual pothole-filling news conference, promoting the use of a city-issued mobile phone app called PVD311 to report potholes, graffiti and other city problems.
“Interestingly enough, you can even link a particular pothole to your Facebook page and claim it as your own, and you can keep track of it on your social media as the city works to get it done,” Elorza said.
“I do have a favorite pothole,” Elorza laughed, in response to a reporter’s question.
“It was the first one that we patched the first year that we did this. It was on the Southside next to a service road, and every once in a while I drive by to make sure that it’s still intact, and yes, it is still intact.”
Elorza added that the city tries to respond to reports of potholes within a week, and added that the city is also moving to ensure construction and utility crews properly patch cuts in city streets.
