HASSO HERING

A perspective from Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley

Parking lot pothole saga: An update

Written May 5th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

On May 4, 2023, small traffic cones marked this pothole outside Bi-Mart in Albany.

If you’re keeping track of Albany pothole news, here’s an update on a subject that seems mundane until you hit one and damage a tire or some other part of your car.

On April 17 I wrote about two parking lot potholes that had been called to my attention, one in an email and the other in a Facebook post.

On Thursday I thought it was time to take another look.

In the photo at the top, the hole in the lot between Bi-Mart on one side and the Sizzler on the other had not been fixed. But someone had placed a couple of small traffic cones in the hole.

It had been raining, and without the cones it was impossible for drivers to tell that the hole was pretty deep.

The lot is owned by real estate investors based in Walnut Creek, Calif. Maybe somebody should send them word that their parking lot needs work.

The other pothole, the one outside Kohl’s, WinCo and Taco Bell off Airport Road, had been filled with asphalt by the time I rode the bike out there this week. That’s the one that at least two people reported had damaged their vehicles’ wheels or tires.

In the lot between Kohl’s, WinCo and Taco Bell off Airport Road, a monster pothole had been filled on May 4, 2023.

The photo suggests that the pavement in this driveway, whose owners are based in Albany, might benefit from a thorough resurfacing. But at least the tire-popping pothole has been neutralized.

There’s another way to handle pavement issues in busy parking lots: Repave the lot before potholes show up. Evidently that’s what the managers of the North Albany Shopping Center did last month.

Maybe the Portland owners, who bought the shopping center from New York investors in 2020 for $12.2 million, don’t want their tenants’ customers to complain about the parking lot. (hh)

Preventing potholes: A section of the lot at the North Albany IGA supermarket was blocked the evening of April 29 because it had been repaved.





4 responses to “Parking lot pothole saga: An update”

  1. hj.anony1 says:

    “Maybe somebody should send them word that their parking lot needs work.” – HH

    Maybe that somebody is you HH!

    Unless you wanna send me their contact and I will do. You have my email.

    Cheers!

  2. Cap B. says:

    Good to hear that the North Albany parking lot owners are responsible people. And, the traffic cones in the big hole in Bi-Mart lot are a stop-gap measure, but better than nothing. The owners probably heard about your blog article, Hasso.

    The concrete in the hole near Kohl’s probably got done because the lady who blew a tire and also suffered other damage to her car contacted the owners of the lot. Also, I think another woman was urged to contact the owners of the Albany Safeway parking lot.

    Good on ‘ya, Hasso. I’m trying to reflect the British because of the coronation of King Charles III tomorrow, but I think I missed it with that saying. It is Australian, but they are still part of the Commonwealth.

  3. KB says:

    Hope the safeway pothole between Bk and Applebee’s gets taken care of soon also. It’s been like that for years wish they take reports more seriously then falling on deaf ears

  4. Karen Stoddard says:

    The owners of these proprietary need to be accountable!

 

 
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