Pot holes and chicken bowls
03/30/09
If you're a fellow Chicagoan, you'd undoubtedly traversed the rocky terrain that we locals refer to simply as "the street". Pot holes the size of moon craters are everywhere, and those crackerjack, get-er-done types at the Department of Streets and Sanitation don't exactly seem to be jumping to the alleviate sizable and systemic problem. That could be because they continue to get paid whether they actually do their jobs or not, but one can't be sure of these things.
But, never fear! Colonel Sanders is here!
KFC, the fried chicken franchise, is offering itself as a corporate sponsor for pothole repair. An actor dressed as KFC founder Colonel Sanders and a road repair group got started this week in the franchise’s hometown of Louisville, Ky., filling up hundreds of holes.
Many of the repairs are decorated with a white stencil saying the spot was “Re-freshed by KFC” — a play on KFC’s ad campaign stressing the freshness of their chickens. KFC spokesman Russell Dyer said the crew is using “regular asphalt,” not day-old biscuits.
Seems like a novel idea, no? While the Transportation Department officials have not rejected the proposal out of hand, they have raised some concerns:
Department spokesman Brian Steele said the city has a lot of questions about KFC’s program, like what type of asphalt is used. The city also doesn’t allow ads in the public way, because they could create a distraction and safety hazard.
Maybe this is just me, but I consider those mini-grand canyons that rough up my ride down Lake Street to be a pretty decent safety hazard.
I think most Chicagoans would prefer to take their chances battling their ADD with some white-stenciled asphalt than risk plummeting to the center of the earth down one of these massive crevasses or swerving to and fro to avoid these pitfalls as if they were Gary Busey after an all-night bender.