Roads

yes brick is better but for whatever reason they decided to pave over all of it 50+ years ago.

i think with the way the system is set up today, it would be cost prohibitive to rebrick everything, as asphalt is now a lot cheaper.

Here is an interesting website on this subject:
http://www.btco.net/ghosts/streets/paving/paving.html

Im in the same boat - West Toledo to down town.

if you find yourself westbound on Sylvania just West of douglas (ie, in front of the former Friendly's ice cream) watch out.

I saw one yesterday you could put a half bushel basket in...

(if any of you are old enough to know how big a half bushel basket is, that is...

I think we are all in the same "sinking" boat. South Toledo is no better off. S. Detroit is like the Rubicon Trail, Arlington is fit for a JEEP only and Broadway...well let's just say..."Don't Go There"

I created a reporting tool over on the Swamp. I will post here too for those who do not visit SB:http://swampbubbles.com/blogs/krazykat/20090106/toledo-s-crumbling-streets

I think all OVER the city there is reason to complain. I cringe for my poor car and all the knocking I hear from my exhaust system on a daily basis, driving regularly in South and in West Toledo. Knock-knock-knock-clank-clang-rattle! Ugh. Granted, I need some exhaust work, however I didn't have any problems like this before I moved up to the Toledo area from BG. Three years and approximately 12,000 miles total of driving on these roads has turned my original-owner Nissan into a clunker. I don't plan to fix my exhaust anytime soon. I mean, why? Spend $500 per my dealer estimate and immediately begin to abuse the system all over again? Eff it, I'll wait til I actually start dropping parts on the road. (Apologies in advance to the folks driving behind me! Ummm, sorry about that. Whoopsie.)

Anyway, so is there brick under most of the paving around Toledo? I too have noticed that the brick streets, or even where brick is peeping up from under pavement, seem to be fine. Maybe we just need to jackhammer all the asphalt up and remove it from every street in 40mph and under zones. Sounds drastic ... and costly, but so is the constant paving-repaving-pothole-filling merry-go-round. Maybe I shouldn't have any say -- I don't live inside the city limits. However, literally 99 percent of the money I spend locally, other than my rent, goes to businesses in Toledo city zip codes. My nearest gas station, grocery store, post office, fast food restaurant ... all in Toledo. Asphalt IS a much smoother ride -- but only in the very short term, when it's brand-spanking new and/or has just been "fixed."

"Asphalt IS a much smoother ride -- but only in the very short term, when it's brand-spanking new and/or has just been "fixed."

The irony is that, a few years ago, the city put in brick (or it might have been stamped brick) in some of the downtown areas. Which doesn't give that smooth ride.

It was asphalt stamped to look like brick and it too is now falling apart. And the asphalt in the middle of the intersection (you know between the brick crosswalk) is really bad. Here we will have this Brand New Downtown Arena but the roads leading there will be reminicent of some 19th Century gravel and mud path! Makes me want to visit and vist often.

billy: I'm 30 and know what a bushel basket is :) Reminds me I'll need to order a bushel of green beans to dry. I love spring/summer.