PALM BAY, Fla. – A frustrated new resident of Palm Bay is speaking out about the pothole-covered south Palm Bay neighborhood she moved in to this summer.
Krystle Vanderpluym-Hansen and her family moved to Weiman Road in June.
The family said they saw the poor road conditions before moving in but figured the city would make repairs.
"It's unacceptable for the streets to look this bad," Vanderpluym-Hansen said. "You don't even want to do 5 miles per hour."
She said she's counted 79 potholes on just one section of the street.
Given Palm Bay's fiscal state, city leaders said expectations of a permanent repair are unrealistic at this time.
City Manager Gregg Lynk gave Vanderpluym-Hansen a quick 10-year history via email Monday.
"When the market crashed ... so did city revenue ... We simply do not have the funds," Lynk wrote.
That explained why Vanderpluym-Hansen said workers did a poor job last week when they came to her neighborhood and made quick repairs.
"Patching the potholes when they're this severe is only making the roads worse because they can't even smooth the potholes properly," she told News 6.
Neighbors are worried about damaging their cars and not having a safe street for children to play on.
"My daughter, she's 4. She can't even ride her bike because if she hits one of those potholes she's going to take a fall. I'm just fearful that they're going to continue to let it go," Vanderpluym-Hansen said.
She said she won't settle for what the city says it can't do.
"Getting Results would be a phenomenal thing. For us to be able to value our streets and not just be the forgotten neighborhood, it would be a great feeling," she said.