It's an inevitable and unwelcome sign of spring. Lingering cold nights and warmer days lead to more potholes on city streets.
But if a driver hits a pothole and their vehicle is damaged, few know they may be entitled to receive compensation from the city.
Like every municipality in the province, the City of Cambridge is required to pay for damages if the pothole that caused the accident meets certain criteria, according to city officials.
“The city is only required to make payment for damages sustained as a result of potholes in the event that it fails to meet the maintenance standards set out under Ontario Regulation,” said Mike Hausser, director of operations for the City of Cambridge.
The criteria it has to meet is: if the hole isn’t fixed in an appropriate time after the city becomes aware of it; if the pothole has a surface area of 600cm2 they have four days to fix it, on the larger side if it’s surface area is 1,000 cm2 they have up to 30 days to make repairs.
Hausser says that when they are aware of a damaged road they can have a crew out there to fix the issue in an average of 13 days.
The City of Cambridge also has an online portal where residents can report any potholes they spot.
According to CAA, the average cost of repairing pothole damage on a vehicle is upwards of $300, with some cases over $1,000.
These damages are usually to wheel and suspension components and can cause your vehicle to need a tow from the scene.
Jeanine Monteiro is a Cambridge resident who knows all too well what a pothole can do to her car.
She said that her vehicle has hit a pothole on Guelph Avenue about four times, the last time it hit caused serious damage resulting in several hundred dollars in repair costs.
“When I hit it I heard some serious clunking,” said Monteiro. “I’ve seen other cars go through it too. You can really see how deep they go in and out.”
The Cambridge driver was not aware that you could report potholes or be compensated for damages caused by them. She wishes that this was more common knowledge, but there's no question about what damaged her vehicle.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this pothole caused this and I’m stuck with the bill,” said Monterio.
