Fox News Flash top headlines for January 18
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Some San Francisco-area residents have had it with waiting for the city to send crews to fix potholes on the roadways and have taken it upon themselves to make the repairs.
The "PotholeGate Vigilantes" have patched around 130 potholes in Vallejo as of Tuesday and have raised more than $7,000 via a GoFundMe page to purchase asphalt and other repair materials.
"It's gotten to where it's dangerous," David Marsteller, a volunteer with the group, told Fox News. "Every day on our Facebook platforms, we're seeing five or six people posting pictures of tires bent, tires blown out."
A pothole in Vallejo, California. A group dubbed the "PotholeGate Vigilantes" has taken it upon themselves to patch potholes across the city. (David Marsteller)
The group numbers around six to 10 people who met through a community Facebook page where they were asked if they would be willing to pitch in to fix the roads.
Images shared by Marsteller show potholes deep enough to partially place orange cones inside and others that could do serious damage to car tires and rims.
In a weekly newsletter, Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell said he wanted to discourage the private repair of potholes, Fox affiliate KTVU-TV reported.
"It can be a hazardous task to undertake repairs without the proper help with traffic control," he wrote. "Often these efforts and money will all be wasted without adequate compaction techniques if the rains carry away the asphalt once again."
Fox News has reached out to city officials.
A pothole in Vallejo, California. A group dubbed the "PotholeGate Vigilantes" has taken it upon themselves to patch potholes across the city. (David Marsteller)
During one job, Marsteller said group members were given a legal order to stop working by a city employee. However, he said as long as people keep donating, they will continue to make pothole repairs.
The reason for their success, he said, is that they aren't bound by time-consuming and costly regulations and legalities placed on municipalities.
"They have to send out an engineer, someone to analyze and then they have to do forensics… where we just get it done," he said. "We're free to do it and this is something that can easily be done."
David Marsteller with two members of the "PotholeGate Vigilantes." ( )
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The group's next endeavor is to tackle trash on the streets and the removal of abandoned vehicles.
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