Smoother ride: Pothole season mild in the Halifax area, so far

With the calendar officially in spring, Halifax drivers are enjoying a fairly mild pothole season so far this year, likely because of the relatively mild winter.

"I'm not seeing as many potholes as the typical winter," said Dave Buffet, president of the Halifax Taxi Association. "We didn't have as much freeze-thaw, freeze-thaw.”

Although some roads are in need of attention, the annual problem doesn't seem nearly as bad as it was last year.

"Our road operations crews identify and log potholes all year," said Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) communications specialist Laura Wright, via email.

“During the winter months, crews have access to a mobile hot asphalt unit that can repair potholes. Crews also use a cold patch product that can be applied year-round for areas that require immediate attention.”

"We also rely on residents to report any problematic potholes they see by calling 311 or reporting a pothole online, so we can log them into our system for repair," she added.

The latest pothole count from the city suggests twice as many have been fixed than those outstanding.

Currently, the city has identified 889 open potholes in the HRM, with 1,999 closed since Jan. 1.

"The municipality prioritizes potholes based on width and depth," said Wright. “Priority 1 potholes are addressed before all others. This means some potholes on streets will be fixed before others to ensure the more serious potholes are addressed as soon as possible.”

Waiting for a bus near a large pothole on Barrington Street Tuesday, retiree Bruce Coil said he doesn't miss driving or pothole season.

In fact, he was so mad about them last year, he says he went to city hall and approached the mayor.

"I just said, 'Take a drive on your lunch hour up and down North Street,'" said Coil.

Coil would like to see the city dedicate more resources to the issue.

"I lived in Calgary for about 10 years, and they had a pothole patrol, and that's all they did was drive around the city looking for potholes.”