We all know New Orleans streets have the strength of a water cracker and we're tired of losing tires to potholes, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is trying to help. He assembled a 13-person task force to figure out how the heck we're going to pay to fix the city's garbage streets—turns out it's a $9.3 billion job.
The group, called Fix My Streets Financing Working Group, comprises "engineers, City Council members, finance and transportation professionals and leaders of an activist group for which it is named." Its job? To "com[e] up with ways to pay for the massive backlog of work needed on what are known as interior streets, meaning those running between major thoroughfares."
Landrieu says he hopes the group can find "untapped funds," and there is also the possibility of introducing a tax "to help fund up to $100 million in street repairs over the next several years." I'd say that's a better plan than decorating potholes for the holidays.
· Task force to seek ideas for funding $9.3 billion in work needed on New Orleans streets [New Orleans Advocate]
· Lakeview residents decorate pothole for the holiday season [WWL]