Hamilton's pothole problem means costly vehicle repairs for residents

Hamilton's James Smith was driving his BMW down Upper Ottawa Street around 2:30 a.m. last month when he encountered a startling bump.

It was Feb. 12, and Smith was on his way home from work, driving in the curb lane on a dark and rainy morning. He realized that he had run into a pothole and a few seconds later his tire was completely flat.

He had to call home and wake up his wife, who is seven months pregnant, to come and pick him up.

"It sucks," he said.

"You pay your taxes for roads, and then you are blowing your tires because they don't fix the roads." 

The car's rim was damaged and the alignment was off, he said. It had to be towed to the garage the next day. He got a used tire from Gilbert's Tire Sales and Service Ltd., and "a BMW rim is not cheap," he said. 

Smith is one of several residents facing vehicle damage over what they say is a brutal pothole season.

Every year, the winter season tests the city roads. But the city says this year has been more challenging for its maintenance crews to keep up. This is due to the extreme weather fluctuation. 

In 2021, the city filled 62,000 potholes in total, said Peter Sniuolis, Hamilton's acting manager of roadway maintenance. This year, the number has reached 14,000 from Jan.1 to Feb. 20.

Weather is to blame

"It's uncertain if we will surpass it," he said. "But due to the extreme weather fluctuations we have experienced this year, I would say that it's been a more challenging year, and I think there has been an increased number of potholes compared to previous years."

Potholes occur every year due to the freeze-thaw cycle, which means temperature change determines how bad a particular year is going to be.

CBC also contacted Gilbert's Tire Sales and Service Ltd., which confirmed it's having frequent pothole damage vehicle repairs.

Sparkie's Tires, meanwhile, said business was "slow" this week.

'I am terrified to drive to Hamilton'

Christine Mutch is a Burlington resident who visits Hamilton every week with her kids.

"I am terrified to drive to Hamilton, on the Hamilton roads," she said.

Earlier this month, Mutch rolled her car into a snow-filled pothole, which caused $1,450 worth of damage on her new vehicle. 

"It smashed my tire, my rim and my bumper," she said.

Mutch filed a claim with the city for her damage and is waiting for approval.

Sniuolis said the pothole problem is everywhere and not specific to Hamilton.

"We had the 50-centimetre snow drop, and then it froze, and then we had above-average temperatures for the season, and rain," he said.

The city has been "proactively repairing potholes," he said, and the city does road patrols to locate them. 

Pothole claims are up at the city

The potholes are repaired on a priority basis, and there are about "15 crews operating around the city proactively filling potholes prior to them being reported," Sniuolis said.

Snowplows could be another reason potholes happen at the same spot, again and again, he said.

The pothole claims reported in the last couple of years were in double digits. But the number of claims so far for 2022 has already reached 364, said Diana Swaby, acting manager of Hamilton's risk management services.

"The claims investigation process takes four to six weeks," she said. "Since generally speaking, only five to 10 per cent of claims are paid, motorists looking for financial assistance associated with repairs should consult their own auto insurer to see if coverage is available."

"The city is responsible for maintenance of roadways as per the minimum maintenance standards (MMS) set by the province. If those minimum standards are met, the city is not liable for any damages."

Car fell into a sinkhole

Tomas Ruiz says he drove into a sinkhole on a flooded street between West 5th Street and Elkwood Drive. 

"My vehicle sank and I had to be rescued by the fire department and the police," he said in an email to the city. "My vehicle stayed underwater for around two hours until the water shut down and the towing company was able to remove it from the hole." 

"I slowed down," he later told CBC. "I think that was the main reason I didn't get hurt."

Ruiz said his vehicle sank almost a metre into the road. He was lucky water didn't enter the vehicle, he said, and a driver following him pulled over and called 911. 

The incident totalled his new Mazda, he said.

'It shouldn't be my fault'

"This is my first time ever having an accident ... honestly, it shouldn't be my fault."

Ruiz said his insurance company says unless the car was parked and drowned due to flooding, they will only approve a claim that considers him 100 per cent at fault, and his premium will increase.

Ruiz said he reached out to the city and filed a claim on the same day, but has not gotten any assistance so far.

"I don't know who is going to take responsibility for what happened," he said.

Swaby said an investigation is ongoing. "If drivers are looking for assistance, they should contact their own insurer."

"The purpose of insurance is to cover circumstances where a third party might not be liable."

Not just car drivers, cyclists are suffering too

David Shellnutt, a lawyer at the Biking Lawyer Law Firm in Toronto, takes cases of cyclists getting injured due to potholes from across Ontario.

In one Hamilton case, he said, a cyclist faced a shoulder injury after a pothole encounter in 2020.

To file a claim, Shellnutt said, the cyclist had to provide the measurements of the pothole.

"The measurements fell below the Ontario minimum maintenance standards for municipal highways and roads, so we advised them that we may not be able to help because if a pothole is under a certain measurement," he said. 

"Then the city will not be found liable."