California couple ordered to stop filling in neighborhood potholes themselves: ‘We’ve begged the city for help’
A fed-up California couple has been ordered to stop repairing the local roads themselves that the local government wouldn’t fix which caused several problems with their vehicles.
Alex and Daisy De La Rosa were issued a cease-and-desist letter from the City of Compton because they took it upon themselves to fill in the potholes that have wreaked havoc on the streets throughout the city.
The couple, who work as couriers in the city, with Daisy driving and Alex delivering the packages, started the side project after the nuisance potholes led to several flat tires, suspension issues and a few arguments, according to KABC.
“He first started off within our block in front of our home and we’ve seen that it got better,” Daisy told the outlet. “So he’s all like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I’m like, ‘But we don’t have that much money.’ He’s like ‘It doesn’t matter. One pothole at a time.'”
The De La Rosa’s soon started to post their repairs to social media, which caught the attention of other community members also fed up with the poor road conditions.
“All across our city of Compton there are massive potholes. We are constantly slamming into them and it’s causing major damage to our vehicles, causing flat tires, and ruining our suspension,” Daisy De La Rosa wrote on the crowdsourcing campaign.
“We’ve begged the city for help, but they can’t keep up. Many of us are hardworking and cannot afford these costly repairs.”
At first, the parents of four were paying out of pocket, filling in as many road hazards as they could, but soon began a GoFundMe to receive donations to help pay for the needed supplies.
“My husband and I have taken matters into our own hands and are filling the holes ourselves. People have been so grateful they’ve been donating, so we can continue to buy bags of asphalt.”
The couple received $1,730 of the $1,000 goal they had set.
In one of the videos posted to TikTok, the couple are helped by what appears to be two of their young children, filling a relatively large pothole with bagged asphalt.
As their work began to pick up attention, it was quickly halted after the couple received the ironic letter from Compton’s Community Improvement Services Department because of the unauthorized road repairs.
“Your actions have raised serious concerns as they post a threat to public safety and the integrity of our city’s infrastructure,” the letter dated March 14 read, according to ABC 7. “It is imperative that all maintenance and repair work on public roadways be conducted in accordance with established regulations and procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents and visitors.”
Fines, fees and “potential liability for damages incurred as a result of (their) actions,” were among the potential penalties listed in the letter.
The couple was upset they had to stop the project before blasting the city officials for not having their priorities straight.
“We were able to bring attention to the ongoing issue we have within our city! We seen that if we take matters into our hands and speak up we are able to EMBARRASS people with power and make our money’s worth valuable again.
“Unfortunately they were very quick to stop us but aren’t very quick on helping us! Very big difference between both,” Daisy De La Rosa added.
In 2023, Arnold Schwarzenegger took matters into his own hands and filled a giant pothole that had been plaguing his Los Angeles neighborhood for weeks.
“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,” the former California governor tweeted.