Former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, went viral this week after tweeting a video of him filling in a pothole in his Los Angeles neighborhood that he said was frustrating cyclists and drivers in the area.
Getting fed up with the city’s lack of action, he grabbed a ‘team,’ a shovel, and filled it himself — but the city says that hole was actually being used.
via Gizmodo:
“Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it,” he wrote alongside the video on Twitter. “I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go.”
A passing driver is seen in the video yelling “Thank you!” while Schwarzenegger says, “You’re welcome.” He continues, “You have to do it yourself. This is crazy. For three weeks I’ve been waiting for this hole to be closed.”
In contradiction to Schwarzenegger’s actions and comments that the pothole had been plaguing drivers for weeks, a City of Los Angeles spokesperson told NBC that the so-called pothole was actually a construction site. “This location is not a pothole,” the spokesperson said. “It’s a service trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by SoCal Gas, who expects the work to be completed by the end of May.”
The spokesperson continued, “As is the case with similar projects impacting City streets, SoCal Gas will be required to repair the area once their work is completed.”
Schwarzenegger’s tweet garnered 8.5 million views at the time of writing and received numerous comments thanking him for taking action in a city that was reportedly ignoring residents’ complaints.
The claims that the site was an active construction zone were disputed by a representative for Schwarzenegger who questioned why an area of the street would be blocked off for so long. “I’d be curious if they truly believe the best solution was to block off one direction of traffic for 2-3 months and force cars and bicyclists to drive the wrong way dangerously?” the representative told People. “Honestly, the city is as bad at damage control as they are at performing basic services,” they added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said they are implementing plans to repair potholes across the city in a press conference last week, NBC News reported. Since December, the city has received more than 19,692 pothole repair requests and according to NBC News, as of April 6, the city had filled at least 17,549 of them.
This is what happens when you don’t mind your own business.
Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go. pic.twitter.com/aslhkUShvT
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 11, 2023
