Potholes are bringing in the cash for local garage owners

Sylvain Filiatrault owns Dagenais Bernard, a garage in Fabreville. The incoming work over the last few days has refused to slow down.

"The potholes have been really rough on cars this year," he said.

"Personally, I don't remember a year worse than this one. Everyday I'm getting clients in who have broken their suspension or punctured their car. It's not too amusing for the consumer, but we can't hide it, we're doing great business on our end."

Elvis Zaris is the owner of the Centre du pneu on Samson boulevard in Laval, and agrees with Mr. Filiatrault.

"It's a severe situation," he said. "There is a lot of anger amongst drivers and with good reason. We're seeing a lot of bent and deformed rims. We're talking repairs that can cost up to $350. I myself own a BMW, and a pothole broke my suspension."

"This year we had several cycles of freezing and defrosting," said Martin Savard, head of public relations for the city. "Once the ice defrosts, cracks form and water infiltrates the cracks. Once the temperatures run below zero the same water freezes and expands, and potholes are formed. So it's not only in Laval where you'll find them."

According to Mr. Savard areas of high circulation are being given top priority by blue collar workers over the next few weeks, since these are the same arteries that are the worst affected.

"Boulevards like Cartier, Concorde, Corbusier as well as municipal service roads are our priority," he said. "Afterwards we'll tackle more residential areas. We currently have 10 to 12 teams working full time on this job."

"I don't know if it's because there are more pot holes than ever before or if it's just because more people know about our service, but there is definitely more online traffic this year," said Phillippe St-Pierre, public relations for CAA-Quebec.

Mr. St-Pierre said that since 1993, the provincial government, cities and municipalities have backed away from all responsibility in cases of material damage to tires or vehicle suspension because of road conditions. "There are certain recourses available, but the driver has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was negligence," he said.

PHOTO DIGITALES: Nid.3

BV:Boulevard Concorde is lined with signs of the damage done this year.

(Photo: Martin Alarie)