Oakland residents spray paint potholes to warn drivers

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Women in Oakland are taking matters into their own hands by spray painting danger spots to let drivers know about bad potholes before they hit them in Oakland's Montclair neighborhood.

There are a lot of potholes on Thornhill Road where the activists have spray painted an arrow so drivers will be warned.

They did this at all the potholes on the road so drivers could try to avoid trouble spots. The city of Oakland says a huge number of potholes have popped up because of all the recent storms. They aren't ignoring them even though some residents say it feels that way.

"It's great if they're going to fix the problem. We're always looking for road improvement in this neighborhood. Sometimes we're ignored. Sometimes it takes a long time. I know there's a long backlog of work," resident Jim Matzorkis said.

The city says it cannot repair the potholes while it is still raining the fix won't stick.

But they are working on their pothole plan for when the weather dries up, and say hearing from the community does make a difference. Thornhill is now on their list.

If you have potholes you'd like to report Oakland has set up a hotline at 510-615-5566.

City officials say there are so many new potholes they need the citizens to be their eyes and ears out there to tell them where to go.