It’s pothole season in Boston, and this year the problem appears to be worse than in years past. Although potholes pop up in every part of the city, some neighborhoods have it much worse than others, according to Renthop.com.
The first four months of 2017 saw nearly as many potholes reported to the city’s 311 service as all of 2016, with 471 potholes reported so far this year versus 544 reported all of last year. April had the most pothole-filling requests of any month since 2016, with 195 requests.
Why are pothole reports spiking now? Renthop.com, an apartment-finding website, says the winter’s snow and temperature swings between deep-freeze and unseasonably warm weather contributed, as did civic events like the Super Bowl parade.
Many of the neighborhoods with the highest pothole request per square mile are some of the priciest areas in the city. Back Bay and Beacon Hill, for example, are third and fourth, respectively, in pothole complaints. They are second and third on Neighborhood X’s most pricey areas for housing.
Renthop did not find a scientific correlation between pothole complaints and housing price, however. The trend could be because of the road conditions there and the amount of car traffic they see, or it could be that residents in those neighborhoods are more likely to lodge a complaint about potholes.
Here are the top 10 neighborhoods for pothole reports, according to Renthop.com. Check out the full list here.
Neighborhood | Pothole requests | Requests/square mile |
---|---|---|
Mission Hill | 75 | 136.36 |
Downtown/Financial District | 80 | 129.03 |
Back Bay | 71 | 114.52 |
Beacon Hill | 16 | 51.61 |
South End | 38 | 51.35 |
Jamaica Plain | 111 | 28.17 |
Charlestown | 34 | 25 |
Roxbury | 67 | 20.36 |
South Boston | 46 | 14.29 |
Allston/Brighton | 61 | 13.74 |