Portage County Road Maintenance

Wear and Tear Adds Up

Emma Puz, a senior finance major, has been commuting for four years to Kent State University from Aurora, Ohio. She says the roads, especially in Kent, can get bad in the winter and a twenty minute drive can soon become longer than planned.

“I have a lot of problems with plows getting out on time,” Puz said. She says students with earlier classes at 7:45 and 8:50 am especially struggle, and sometimes need to add an extra 45 minutes to an hour in order to ensure they will arrive to school on time. 

[pullquote]Need to plan your morning route? Brent Kovacs, Ohio Department of Transportation Representitive, and Kent Public Service Director Melanie Baker recommend Ohgo.com. [/pullquote]

Another concern when commuting in the winter is the additional expenses on students. Puz said that along with the tuition she’s paying and the gas milage, damage to her car is an extra expense that adds up fast.

“A lot of it is wear and tear, but a lot of it is amplified because of road conditions,” Puz said, “and that’s a problem.”

She describes the excessive maintenance she has done on her car in the past four years- new brake pads, tires, and struts. At one point, she even decided to reroute her morning commute to save her car from the rough conditions. Puz said while newer areas of Kent, such as the roundabout, are great to drive on, she describes Kent’s problem areas as “forgotten.”

“There are so many potholes, and I’m scared to death every time my car dips into one,” Puz said. She said she’s grateful she drives a better-equipped car than most college students, and can’t imagine what she would do if she had to drive the typical “college student car.” 

Although Puz is graduating soon, she said she hopes the road conditions can be improved for future students.