To the Editor:

I live in the Del Ray-Rosemont area and each day when I drive to work I am reminded of a serious shortcoming of my local government: the local roads. Driving around the city is literally a bone-rattling experience due to the poor condition of the roads. Weather-created potholes aside, the streets are in horrific shape. I can’t imagine the amount of damage being done to cars as they navigate the bumpy and distressed streets. Where are my tax dollars going? They are certainly not going to road maintenance. I — like many drives — find myself looking down at the road as I drive in order to navigate the ruts rather than looking ahead which makes for unsafe driving. On the potholes side, I challenge anyone to find a pothole that has been repaired by the city. A neighbor has taken the initiative and filled a local hole with his own gravel. Someone from the city needs to speak up on this. Driving around Alexandria reminds me of driving in Washington and being compared to D.C. is never a good thing.

Bill Turner

Alexandria