Who pays for potholes?

At Kelvin's Wheels, they've been busy with repairs due to pothole incidents.

“They are getting worse and worse every year,” said Wayne Wong of the potholes that are springing up all over Saskatoon. “I know the City is trying to do their best to repair them, but there’s just too many of them,” he said.

Wong hit a pothole in the north end of the city and damaged his wheel rim.

The team at Kelvin’s Wheel’s has seen a lot of damage like Wong’s. “We’ve got some customers out there where we’ve fixed wheels on their cars and we’ve contacted them and they will say ‘yes, we’re on our way down there because we’ve damaged another one’ or they’ve damaged a spare we put on for them,” said Chad Armbruster, owner of the shop.

An average wheel repair from pothole damage costs about $200, but getting reimbursed for the work isn’t easy. Pothole damage is considered single vehicle incident – meaning motorists are responsible for paying the deductible.

The situation is worse for if drivers speeding or not following traffic laws. Drivers can be found at fault and given six demerit points.

Motorists can file a claim with the city after filing with SGI as long as it’s within 30 days of the incident.