Pothole Lottery Winner Gets Street Fixed

Bright and early Thursday morning, the big orange trucks from the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services rolled into Rayneta Drive in Sherman Oaks. The crew got out and started spreading asphalt on a portion of the street that was lined with deep cracks and a large pothole.

"I'm so glad they are doing what they promised to do," said Elsie Cedar, whose home on Rayneta sits right next to several large potholes, which she has claimed makes it dangerous for cars and pedestrians.

The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council had promised to work with the city to get the worst potholes in town fixed, and held a "pothole lottery" in which residents were asked to identify streets that needed fixing.

Rayneta Drive "won" the lottery, which is to say the council vowed to fix the potholes on that street first. More than 10 other locations were also identified.

"In these tough times, street services can't do all that they want to do, so we allocated a portion of our budget to work with the city department and help fund the asphalt trucks and the crews to do the job," said Jill Banks Barad, president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council.

In addition to some happy residents, a large contingent from Los Angeles city governmentl was present at the pothole-fixing inaugural.

City Councilman Paul Koretz donned work clothing over his suit and began pushing a "whacker" over the first large crack that was being filled with asphalt.

"We have created a great partnership between the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and city government," said Koretz. "I hope this is replicated all over the city," he said.

"This is the model of what neighborhood council participation should be, doing the research and taking action," said Nazario Sauceda, interim director of the Bureau of Street Services.

"We promised to do it, and we did it," said Jeff Ebenstein, vice president of the SONC. "We're going to fill all the potholes on the list," he added.

Just as the crew began filling the pothole in front of the garage at the corner of Rayneta Drive and Saugus Avenue, Shelly Kalvin, who was inside the house, came out and said, "You're blocking my driveway, I've got to get out and go to work."

When told they were repairing the street in front of her garage, Kalvin replied, "That's OK, I'll wait."

"I've been dealing with that pothole for years," she said.

Late Thursday, a spokesman for the Bureau of Street Services told Sherman Oaks Patch that he wasn't sure when other streets will get their potholes fixed, and that those dates have not been decided yet.

Here is the list of locations with the worst potholes in Sherman Oaks, according to the Neighborhood Council:

Dickens, Van Nuys and Beverly Glen tree canopy (14400 block)

4242 Hazeltine Ave.

Ventura Boulevard and Stern Avenue

Ventura Boulevard and Woodman Avenue

4135 Fulton Ave.

4168 Fulton Ave.

Alley from Fulton Avenue to Dixie Canyon Avenue

Tyrone Avenue and Moorpark Street

Alley behind Fantastic Sams, 14500 Ventura

Alley from Columbus to Kester, just north of Ventura Boulevard

15057 Noble lift 152