Private way pothole repairs

At a glance

• What: Docket No. 0807, an ordinance to address private way potholes. Sponsored by Councilor Worrell and Councilor Murphy, it would add asphalt to the temporary repairs city crews may make on private ways and, as Worrell described it, have the city fill those potholes rather than close the 311 request. Referred to the Government Operations Committee on April 15, 2026.
• Where it stands: heard on October 15, 2026 in a virtual hearing. No vote; the sponsor and chair pointed to a working session. Councilors asked the Public Works street operations superintendent for cost figures.
• What to watch: whether the ordinance is narrowed or widened (a lighter resurfacing track, a definition of "temporary fix"), and the cost data requested from Public Works.

The proposal

• Today crews patch private ways only when a supervisor judges access for ambulances, ladder trucks or trash trucks is at risk, and the 311 case is usually closed as "abutters responsible". Superintendent Daniel said crews already use asphalt where the road is asphalt, which Worrell said city code does not clearly allow.
• Worrell asked that the code cover asphalt explicitly and that filling be automatic. He said he would also check whether asphalt is the most cost-effective material, since potholes return year after year.

Main points from the hearing

• State law limit: the superintendent said state law bars public funds on private property, and that crews patch under a public-safety rationale. The chair suggested the city may be able to define what counts as a temporary fix; the 25% threshold in state law was raised but not explained.
• Becoming a public way: the betterment route needs a petition and vote of a majority of owners, an engineering survey and an assessment, and the street must meet city standards (about 53 feet wide, accessible sidewalks, drainage, lighting). Four streets have done it in about 15 years; residents of one street voted it down over cut-through traffic concerns.
• Cost: taking over every private way was put at hundreds of millions of dollars; patching costs are small by comparison. The superintendent could not say how many private ways get city patches because 311 does not track it, and FitzGerald and the chair asked for numbers. Worrell asked for an estimate of filling the potholes behind closed 311 cases.
• Drainage and gravel roads: water is the main cause of failing patches; paving without drainage can push water into basements. Gravel roads such as The Grove should keep gravel fill.
• Accessibility rules: the chair asked how to separate routine maintenance from permanent work that triggers accessibility requirements; the superintendent said owners resurfacing on their own are not held to them.
• Public testimony: six residents (two recorded) from Roslindale, Dorchester, Mount Hope-Canterbury, Jamaica Plain and The Grove supported the ordinance as a first step, described ice, missed mail, ambulance delays and tire damage, and asked for creative funding and attention to services such as police response on private ways.
• Flynn raised a related private-alley water and sewer problem in Chinatown; Louijeune noted drainage issues in Hyde Park.

Sources

• 2026-10-15 - Government Operations Committee (captioned recording)

Discussion time

About 94 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Log

• 2026-10-15 - Government Operations Committee - Hearing on Docket No. 0807: sponsors and councilors questioned the street operations superintendent on current repair practice, state law limits, the betterment process and cost; residents testified in support; no vote, working session expected.