Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada says she understands people’s frustrations over potholes — and why some residents have taken to fixing them themselves — but is adamant they should leave the issue to the city.
Speaking while announcing new money for pothole repairs Wednesday, Martinez Ferrada addressed recent viral videos of a resident, Saad Tekiout, fixing them himself with a shovel and asphalt.
“I salute the engagement as a citizen, but let’s do this in an orderly manner and in way that is respectful of the job that we need to do as a city,” Martinez Ferrada said from city hall.
In an effort to address the issue, the city announced an additional $1 million in funding to boroughs dealing with the most complaints and another $1 million in new contracts for companies to manually fix potholes.
An additional $125,000 will also be dedicated to fixing potholes on Notre-Dame St., one of the worst streets in the city.
Saad Tekiout is seen fixing a pothole in photos from his Instagram account. Via marquize.7/Instagram
Asked about Tekiout, Martinez Ferrada said she understands he has become a “symbol of residents’ frustrations” but insisted the work should be left to the city.
She invited Tekiout, who owns a landscaping business, to bid on the new contracts to manually patch potholes.
“It’s exactly what he’s been doing,” she said.
Earlier this week, Tekiout posted a photo to social media showing Martinez Ferrada had asked to meet with him to discuss the issue.
Speaking to reporters outside city hall, he said he expected to meet with the mayor Wednesday but said it was called off at the last minute.
“They said they will stay in touch,” he added.
The mayor’s office did not respond when asked what happened with the meeting. Tekiout, meanwhile, said he’s willing to work with the city under the right conditions.
“If (the mayor) comes and speaks with me about a concrete way of fixing this, and I see it’s the right approach, of course I’ll accept,” he said of the suggestion he submit a bid.
“My first objective is to fix Montreal’s streets — how we do that, that’s a detail. No matter how it gets done, I just want it done,” he added.
Tekiout said he does not fear any repercussions from the city, despite warnings and lawyers advising his actions are illegal.
“My bigger fear is for people’s security when they’re driving,” he said.
Tekiout launched an online fundraising campaign through GoFundMe that had collected more than $30,000 before being suspended Wednesday. He said it wasn’t yet clear to him why the campaign was paused, but believes it will be sorted out.
He’s now fixing up to 10 potholes a day, he added, and wants to grow his team to be able to do more.
“I don’t need any subsidies from the city or GoFundMe,” he said. “What I can do with my videos — which are starting to get a lot of views — is get sponsors and continue with my own work.”
The city has announced a series of measures in recent months aimed at improving pothole repairs, acknowledging that the state of its roads is “disastrous” after a particularly challenging winter.
Martinez Ferrada confirmed Wednesday the city’s four Python 5000 machines, used to mechanically repair up to 300 potholes each per day, are out of order.
Still, she said the city has patched up to 12,000 potholes per week in recent weeks.
Projet Montréal, the official opposition at city hall, accused the administration of neglecting the issue to the extent that residents felt compelled to take action.
“It’s frustrating that the mayor is waiting for residents to fill in potholes themselves before taking any action,” party leader Ericka Alneus said in a statement.
Editor’s Picks