I'm going to cut right to the chase - I'm not one to normally complain but our roads in Sioux Falls SUCK!!!

It's as bad as I can remember it ever being, and I've been a resident of Sioux Falls since 1984. I've driven some gravel roads that are in better condition.

My question is, "How did we let our streets get so bad? We had to see it coming. I think it's time the city start spending money on the "un-sexy things" like our roads.

Why I'm speaking up is because of something that happened yesterday. We met some family for lunch and the first thing they commented on was how bad 41st Street was.

And these are out-of-town visitors to our city!

Between all the potholes and huge cracks in the pavement - not to mention all the filler strips that have come loose - it's not how you want to introduce guests to your city.

And it's not just 41st Street - it's all over town. Wherever your drive, you're bound to eventually run across a "rough spot" that nearly shakes the bolts loose on your vehicle.

It pains me to say this, but I'm actually glad I don't own a motorcycle this summer. The roads are just way too unsafe to be riding around on two wheels.

Thanks to a couple of surgical procedures, this is the first summer ever I haven't had a motorcycle to enjoy. But given the condition of our roads, maybe it's a good thing.

I'm no civil engineer, but why can't we just pave over some of our streets? Why does it seem like we always have to completely replace the concrete?

I'll use 49th Street between Cliff Avenue and Southeastern Avenue as an example. Crews repaved that a couple of years back and it's holding up just fine.

I sure would like someone from the city to sit down and explain it to me - how we allowed our streets to reach this point.

Unless something gets done before winter, I can only image how bad some of our roads might look come next spring. It ain't gonna be pretty folks!


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