As Oakland Public Works finishes the third week of its Pothole Blitz, it has surpassed its goal of fixing 1,000 potholes. East and Central Oakland got a makeover in the first two weeks of the campaign; last week, West and North Oakland got some much needed attention.

The push to fill Oakland's pockmarked streets comes after a rainy winter and amidst a storm of budget cuts as Oakland faces a $42 million deficit.

Oakland mayoral hopeful Don Perata has seen evidence of street repairs. For the blitz, he called the Public Works Call center to file a case number for Clarewood Drive.

"There were some 30 potholes covering five city blocks," he said on the phone Tuesday. "Just recently, I saw the city crews circling the potholes with chalk. They missed one or two, but it looks much better."

Perata often has used Oakland's potholes as a campaign metaphor, indicating that if elected in November, he will make city maintenance a priority. And like every Oaklander, he has a pothole story.

Years ago, before Perata termed out as a state senator, he noticed a virtual minefield of potholes outside his Oakland Avenue office. One in particular wreaked havoc at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard.

"There was a huge hole emitting water," Perata said. "Each time the city came and put the asphalt on top of it, it would come up in a few days."

The street's hot spot bubbled over continually for almost four years, Perata said. He started to get answers when he and a few members of the Oakland City Council approached Public Works.

"They've now determined that there's a sewer problem,” he said.

When asked whether the city had the money to address all the holes, Perata said, "On the one hand, we can't have holes all over the city and on the other hand, we need the money for other things. But charging the citizens a parcel tax when they're not really sure how the money we do have is spent, is not the answer."

Perata joked about the increase of pothole repairs during election year, adding, "I do like driving more now. There was a huge hole in District 2 that has been fixed."

Still uncertain are the fates of roads like Jackson Street – the entire length of which is riddled in potholes. It runs through Districts 2 and 4, from the condominium high-rises overlooking Lake Merritt, through Chinatown and to the train tracks on Embarcadero.

At any time of year, driving on Jackson Street feels like off-roading in Colorado. Four-wheeled vehicles – large, small, the flashy and the hoopty – buck and tumble along, their tires laboring over each hole. Some of the potholes span feet across and inches deep. All of them fester mere blocks from Frank Ogawa Plaza in Downtown Oakland.

Public Works spokeswoman Kristine Shaff said the city has spent about $250,000 in the first three weeks of the blitz, adding, "While asphalt roads have a life cycle of 25 to 30 years, the city of Oakland is budgeted to repair streets every 85 years."

She also noted that the city has extended the blitz another week so the eight road crews can address an additional 729 cases reported to the call center. 

"This is just the start of the pothole season," Shaff said. "It starts in the spring and runs through October. But for the blitz, we ask that people still call the center to report a pothole and its nearest address."

If you have any potholes in your neighborhood, report them to the Public Works Call Center at  (510) 615-5566 or via email to pwacallcenter@oaklandnet.com.