One reason potholes are formed is when roads freeze and thaw, which also marks the transition from winter to spring in Syracuse and keeps local drivers worried and local mechanics busy.
When it snowed earlier this month, potholes were once again on Lolita Galstein's mind.
"They’re terrible," she said, in a snowy Tops parking lot. "I honestly sometimes hate to drive, especially when it’s wet or in the snow. I can’t see where I’m going. I just know that if I hit one it’s going to be a disaster."
According to the latest public records from Open Data Syracuse, since 2021, each year the city has been able to fill close to 200 potholes by April.
Alex Colon, a manager at a Mr. Tire Auto Service Center, says that drivers are right to worry about the potholes.
"They’re bad," he said, adding that it seems like every street in the city has one. "You could call the pothole the pandemic of Syracuse because they’re everywhere."
Earlier this month, he said his shop has been receiving calls at least once a day from customers with a pothole problem — which, to Colon, is a sign of spring.
