A few weeks ago was my first big pothole experience in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The pothole managed to reach up and damage the 2 wheels on my bicycle. I found another huge pothole on the same roadway.
I sent the city of Ottawa the email that's at the bottom of this page, and eventually they decided to not pay for my bicycle wheels - about $175. The city's letter says:
"While we sympathize with the concern for the damage to your bicycle, the City's policy is to only pay damage claims for which we have legal liability. The liability for road conditions is governed by section 44 of the Municipal Act which provides that a road authority is not liable for failing to keep a highway in a reasonable state of repair if it took reasonable steps to prevent the default from arising and makes repairs once they become known."
“As this is a busy roadway it is inspected on a weekly basis. The inspection reports prior t his accident do not indicate any deficiencies at this location. The first time the City became aware of a problem at thsi location was on November 13, 2006 when you emailed our 311 service. A service request was created on November 14, 006 and reparis were undertaken on November 20, 2006.”
“In view of the above information, there is no evidence of negligence on the part of the municipality for the maintenance of the roadway in question, and we cannot therefore authorize payment of your claim from city funds.”
“Respectfully, ... [signed by a city official]
To: 311@ottawa.ca
Subject: HUGE POTHOLE!
I just wondered if you were going to get this pothole fixed. It is on the exit ramp to Airport Parkway at Brookfield when you're going north. It was kind enough to ruin both wheels on my bicycle when I was there at 5:15 pm on Nov 1 2006 in the DARK. (I did have my bicycle lights on, front and rear!) I've worked at fixing both wheels and they still have a little bounce in them every time they roll around. These wheels were new this year. I guess the bounce reminds me of how far I've gone. Every big bounce is ONE roll of the rear wheel or about 2145 mm. Now, let's see, how many bounces per minute does it take for a speed of 30 kph. That's 30 km divided 2145 mm divided by 60 ??
I notice the front wheel more when I try to stop. It has these big jerks on every roll. Now, let's see how many jerks does it take to stop a bike that's going 30 kph?
I noticed today that there's a similar large pothole at the beginning of the off ramp of Airport Parkway and Hunt Club.
Somebody told me that they were compensating by the City of Ottawa for
bicycle damage due to similar potholes. Is this true?