EDITORIAL - Who gives a hoot about a smooth ride?

One of the most reliable indicators of a city’s greatness and the measure of its leaders is the state of its streets. Regardless of what endeavors residents and visitors may be engaged in, or wherever these endeavors may take them, they have to pass through these streets first.

And sadly, despite the claim of Cebu City to being the Queen City of the South, the condition of its streets underscores a reality that suggests the very exact opposite of that claim.

There is hardly any street in Cebu City that gives both motorists and commuters alike a smooth and comfortable ride. With but a few exceptions, such as the SRP road, any ride through the city makes for an unforgettable experience in discomfort.

Not only is the city apparently running short on funds to maintain city streets, its methods of maintenance seem to hark back to the dark ages, and are carried out by personnel who know nothing about their jobs except that they begin punch in at 8 and punch out at 5.

How can people derive confidence from, or have any respect for, road maintenance crews whose idea of work properly done is to spit on a pothole, shovel in a mixture whose consistency seems like 90 percent dirt and 10 percent bitumen, and then pat it into place with a slipper?

Not only does this kind of haphazard patchwork result in a job that is not destined to last long, it also produces road surfaces that are rough and uneven, thereby ensuring that any ride through city streets is guaranteed to give anyone a choice of hernia or a toothache.

A condition similar to that affecting city streets is also affecting traffic lights. Many traffic lights have become traffic lights only in name. They no longer have lights on them. And the city has not shown any indication of wanting, or having the capacity, to replace them.

Why the city does not seem to have enough funds to maintain city streets could be because of the huge loan repayments it has had to make as a result of building the SRP, which sadly has not been earning back as envisioned by officials led by Tomas Osmeña, the outgoing mayor.

Or maybe the mayor simply has other priorities that in his determination demands more of what scant resources there are at his disposal. After all, he bows out of office in a few months and is embarked on a different political direction. So why give a damn about a smooth ride?