1: For the seventy some miles of unpaved roads do large gulleys count as pot holes ? Will the "Patch and Roll" address putting down new gravel to fill the gulley ?

A: No, unpaved roads don't count as potholes. We will not be putting down gravel on unimproved streets for several reasons. One is that it is not cost effective (more on this below). Another is that PDOT never accepted maintenance responsibilities for them - it accepts streets into its system when they are up to city design standards.

2: Has anybody thought that maybe the residents might prefer the gravel road to asphalt, curbs, sidewalks, bike lane, and loss of a more rural feel to their street.

A: Yes we have. We will not upgrade roads that people do not want upgraded. The reason we are looking at upgrading roads is that it is our biggest generator of calls and complaints. We are looking for ways to help out the many, many people who have contacted our office wanting to see their streets improved but who cannot afford to do so.

3. Gravel is less expensive that asphalt, so we should be able to "level and fill" all the unpaved streets for far less than "improving" only some.

That is what I thought at first,too, but it turns out to be wrong over the long run. Graveling roads ends up being a short-term fix; it requires re-graveling at least once a year and there is so much more maintenance that it is not cost effective vis-a-vis asphalt. Asphalt, on the other hand, does not need maintenance for years after it is put down, making it the smarter choice.

4. Gravel allows water to soak-in not run-off.

A: Well, yes and no. It is definitely more permeable than asphalt, but once the gravel-soil gets really compact, it can create a decent amount of runoff itself. When we construct streets, we make sure that stormwater is managed responsibly with swales and other facilities that ensure that runoff is contained.