I am writing you this letter over the issue that has made and continues to make a big impact in our city. I believe that the city should put more interest in repairing and finish repairing the roads/streets in the city. We, the residents, need to feel safe while driving within the city. We are in constant danger of getting a flat or damaging our vehicles. Since Hurricane Harvey, we have already suffered tremendous loss to our properties, including our vehicles. There seems to be too many potholes since the storm that have yet to be filled.
As mayor, you need to help us build community morale by addressing and repairing the problem. We need to feel safer while driving. I believe that by advising the Public Works City Engineer to do more on repairing the streets and spending the budget more wisely, Port Arthur can be on the way to be a better community to live in and make the community proud of being a resident here. As a resident here in Port Arthur, I would like to see a better community with safer roads to drive on. There are three reasons that we should have improvements to our roads/streets.
The three reasons are having safer roads/streets, having a better view of the city, and having less damage to our vehicles and trips to the mechanic. Making the roads better can provide more safety for the residents here in Port Arthur. We would also face less possibilities of having accidents. The community would feel safer driving in the streets without any fear of getting a flat tire from falling into one of the many potholes in the streets. On June 28, 2017 KFDM News reported the issue over the potholes.
“KFDM reached out to several city officials for a response to the potholes, including the Public Works Director, the City Manager and even the Mayor.” (https://local12.com/news/nation-world/texas-residents-plant-trees-in-potholes-to-protest-poor-street-conditions).
People took actions into their hands. They started planting trees in the potholes. This way people and the city officials were made aware of the potholes and that they need to be addressed and repaired for better roads. Not only would the repairs benefit our citizens, but visitors could come to our city without having any worries.
Due to our roads being in such bad conditions, many people might choose to not to come to Port Arthur. Unfortunately, citizens are also moving away from Port Arthur because of the lack of attention from our city officials to repair the city. A resident of Port Arthur on June, 27, 2018 was quoted on a 12 News interview stating “Ever since I’ve been living back here, these roads have been the same. Just looking at how big that hole is, nobody wants to drive down here”, Bank said. (https://www.12newsnow.
com/article/news/local/pothole-problems-in-port-arthur/502-568396393). Our roads being full of potholes does not provide a great view for our city. We should be able to see the roads in great condition. On July, 13, 2018, a news report stated that “Several neighbors said it was to alert other driver of the holes, so they can avoid damage to their cars while others say they want city hall to pay attention and fill them in.”(https://powernationtv.com/post/people-are-planting-trees-in-potholes-to-prove-a-point). Therefore, I believe we should fix the issue of repairing the potholes. It has made a big impact in our city of Port Arthur, Texas.
We need to put more time and money into our roads/streets. Fixing our streets will be a great way of showing the community we care about them and that we are on our way to a full recovery. Also, it would help improve how people view this city and that we care about the safety of its residents. It would help our citizens recover from the trauma of Hurricane Harvey by feeling safe driving in great roads/streets without the fear of falling into a pothole, damaging their car, or having accident. I, as a resident of Port Arthur, Texas would like to thank you for taking your time by reading my letter over this issue that continues making a big impact in our city.
