Eyesore of the week: May 25, 2022

Streets at Colonial Townhouses Cooperative 

With construction season in full tilt across Lansing, many residents have been wondering if (and when) crews will get around to repairing the streets on their blocks too. And perhaps nobody has complained more loudly than management at Colonial Townhouses Cooperative. 

Managers urged a City Council committee last week to prioritize repairs on the asphalt patchwork of streets that weave through the complex. One manager has been complaining about them more than 15 years. Still, the roads have been left to deteriorate. 

And it took about 30 minutes for city officials to summarize a response: Tough. 

With $200 million in street repairs identified across the city and reports of potholes at an all-time high, officials said they’ve been forced to carefully prioritize some repairs over others this year. And even though the cooperative is situated on some of the worst streets in the city, they’re not scheduled to be repaired anytime soon — mainly because it would cost way too much. 

It may seem counterintuitive, but most of the city’s road repairs are concentrated on streets that have not completely deteriorated, officials said. Essentially: The roads near the townhouses are too far gone, and the city would rather spend pennies to patch up 10 miles of lightly damaged roads than cough up dollars to dig up and repave just one mile of totally crumbling pavement. 

And the City Council isn’t interested in cherry picking which streets deserve the most love. Residents can still report potholes and other road hazards for quick fixes through the Lansing Connect website. Officials will also consider some additional patches at Colonial Townhouses.