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Some neighbors in Greensboro frustrated that state doesn't maintain their road

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says since Longwood Drive is not state-maintained, the neighbors in that area will have to repair the road before the state can begin to maintain it.
Steve King
Reporter
Some neighbors in Greensboro frustrated that state doesn't maintain their road

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says since Longwood Drive is not state-maintained, the neighbors in that area will have to repair the road before the state can begin to maintain it.

WEBVTT NO WORD IF THERE ARE ANY INJURIES. KENNY: NEW TONIGHT, SOME PEOPLE IN GUILFORD COUNTY CALL A ROAD IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD TREACHEROUS. BUT AS OUR STEVE KING REPORTS, TRANSPORTATION LEADERSAY S IT IS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX THESE POTHOLES. STEVE: THIS IS WHAT DRIVERS HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERY TIME THEY TAKE LONGWOOD DRIVE HERE IN GREENSBORO. THIS ROAD HAS NOT BEEN STATE-MAINTAINED FOR SEVERAL YEARS, SO A NEIGHBOR CARED FOR IT FOR YEARS. HE PASSED AWAY IN 2014, ANEVD SINCE, DRIVERS HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS. IT’S EVEN WORSE WHEN IT RAINS. >> I’VE HEARD TOO MANY VEHICLES GOING THROUGH AND HEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE VEHICLES GETTING CRUNCHED. >> IT’S EMBARRASSI.NG STEVE: THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS BEEN TELLING THESE RESIDENTS THE SAME THING FOR YEARS. THEY’LL HAVE TO REPAIR THE ROAD THEMSELVES BEFORE THE STATE CAN BEGIN TO MAINTAIN IT. THAT’S SOMETHING THESE NEIGHBORS SAY THEYAN C’T AFFORD. >> WHAT WAS THE REASONING FOR THAT? WE ALL PAY TESAX WE ALL LIVE HERE, SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE HERE? >> I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE STATE IS NOT HELPING US OUANT GETTING IT FIXED. IT’S VERY, VERY FRUSTRATING AND IRRITATING. STEVE: THE D.O.T. DID NOT HAVE A COMMENT AS TO LONGWOOD DRIVES I NOT A STATE ROAD WHEN ETH SURROUNDING ROADWAYS ARE. IF YOU KNOW OF A STATE-MAINTAINED ROAD IN ND OFEE REPAIRS, YOU CAN SUBMIT A REPORT THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION’S WEBSITE. YOU CAN FIND THAT LINK ON OUR WE BSITE, WXII12.COM. REPORTING IN GREENSBORO, STEVE KING, WXII 12 NEWS. KENNY: FOR A PRIVATE ROAD TO BECOME A STATE-MAINTAINED ADRO WHOEVER OWNS IT HAS TO REPAIR IT TO A "REASONABLE CONDITION" ON THEIR OWN DIME BEFORE THE ST
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Some neighbors in Greensboro frustrated that state doesn't maintain their road

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says since Longwood Drive is not state-maintained, the neighbors in that area will have to repair the road before the state can begin to maintain it.
Steve King
Reporter
Some Greensboro residents say that they’re frustrated because they cannot afford to restore a road that is in need of repair and the state will not fund those repairs. The North Carolina Department of Transportation says since Longwood Drive is not state-maintained, the neighbors in that area will have to repair the road before the state can begin to maintain it.Neighborhood say the potholes on Longwood Drive damage their cars and create inconveniences on a regular basis. They say when it rains, the potholes fill with water, creating even more treacherous conditions. “I don’t understand why the state is not helping us out and getting it fixed. It’s very, very frustrating and irritating,” said Lynn Staley, who lives in this neighborhood.“It’s frustrating and I’d just like to know how to know how to go a solution because nobody should have to deal with that,” said Patti White, who also lives in the neighborhood.Neighbors say the roadway is also a hazard for any school buses, emergency vehicles or visiting cars which use it.Roy Ware, a neighbor, had maintained the road until he passed away in 2014. Neighbors say the road has become progressively worse with time.North Carolina Department of Transportation leaders say in order for the state to maintain Longwood Drive, the property owners and residents in that area would need to pay to restore the road to a “reasonable condition” before the state could begin to maintain it. In order to restore a road to reasonable condition, residents can file a petition with the NC DOT to ask the state take over maintenance of the road. Once the petition is filled out, the NC DOT will investigate the status of the road and then provide a list of actions that need to be taken to bring the roads up to a “reasonable condition.” If the residents facilitate and fund those actions, the state would then be able to begin maintaining the road.Neighbors filed a petition in 2002 to have the state maintain the road, but they never were able to facilitate the necessary repairs. They say they had called the state several times since then to try to get the state to maintain the road, but they were told they needed to follow the aforementioned process.In addition, the NC DOT could "pursue bringing a road into its system in certain situations, an example being when doing so would be beneficial to a traffic improvement project it is undertaking." However, the NC DOT has no plans to make Longwood Drive a state-maintained road at this time.Now, residents in the area of Longwood Drive say they cannot afford to facilitate and fund the required restorations.“I know that people here would not be able to come up with it,” White said.“I personally don’t have the money to do it and I’m sure a lot of the others don’t have the money. I guess if we had to we might look into it as a last resort,” Staley said.“I want to go about finding out why it was never paved. That’s important, or why it was never maintained. Why they decided that this road, out of all of the roads in here, was singled out as not going to be taken care of. What was the reasoning for that? We all pay taxes. We all live here so what is the difference here? I’ll gladly, if I own part of the road in front of my house, I’ll gladly give up that right for them to take care of the road,” said White.The NC DOT did not comment as to why Longwood Drive is not a state-maintained road, when the other roads in this neighborhood are.State DOT leaders say to report any issues with a state-maintained road, you can submit reports using this link:https://www.ncdot.gov/contact/Pages/default.aspx
Greensboro, NC —

Some Greensboro residents say that they’re frustrated because they cannot afford to restore a road that is in need of repair and the state will not fund those repairs. The North Carolina Department of Transportation says since Longwood Drive is not state-maintained, the neighbors in that area will have to repair the road before the state can begin to maintain it.

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Neighborhood say the potholes on Longwood Drive damage their cars and create inconveniences on a regular basis. They say when it rains, the potholes fill with water, creating even more treacherous conditions.

“I don’t understand why the state is not helping us out and getting it fixed. It’s very, very frustrating and irritating,” said Lynn Staley, who lives in this neighborhood.

“It’s frustrating and I’d just like to know how to know how to go a solution because nobody should have to deal with that,” said Patti White, who also lives in the neighborhood.

Neighbors say the roadway is also a hazard for any school buses, emergency vehicles or visiting cars which use it.

Roy Ware, a neighbor, had maintained the road until he passed away in 2014. Neighbors say the road has become progressively worse with time.

North Carolina Department of Transportation leaders say in order for the state to maintain Longwood Drive, the property owners and residents in that area would need to pay to restore the road to a “reasonable condition” before the state could begin to maintain it. In order to restore a road to reasonable condition, residents can file a petition with the NC DOT to ask the state take over maintenance of the road. Once the petition is filled out, the NC DOT will investigate the status of the road and then provide a list of actions that need to be taken to bring the roads up to a “reasonable condition.” If the residents facilitate and fund those actions, the state would then be able to begin maintaining the road.

Neighbors filed a petition in 2002 to have the state maintain the road, but they never were able to facilitate the necessary repairs. They say they had called the state several times since then to try to get the state to maintain the road, but they were told they needed to follow the aforementioned process.

In addition, the NC DOT could "pursue bringing a road into its system in certain situations, an example being when doing so would be beneficial to a traffic improvement project it is undertaking." However, the NC DOT has no plans to make Longwood Drive a state-maintained road at this time.

Now, residents in the area of Longwood Drive say they cannot afford to facilitate and fund the required restorations.

“I know that people here would not be able to come up with it,” White said.

“I personally don’t have the money to do it and I’m sure a lot of the others don’t have the money. I guess if we had to we might look into it as a last resort,” Staley said.

“I want to go about finding out why it was never paved. That’s important, or why it was never maintained. Why they decided that this road, out of all of the roads in here, was singled out as not going to be taken care of. What was the reasoning for that? We all pay taxes. We all live here so what is the difference here? I’ll gladly, if I own part of the road in front of my house, I’ll gladly give up that right for them to take care of the road,” said White.

The NC DOT did not comment as to why Longwood Drive is not a state-maintained road, when the other roads in this neighborhood are.

State DOT leaders say to report any issues with a state-maintained road, you can submit reports using this link:

https://www.ncdot.gov/contact/Pages/default.aspx