I moved into the city (Louisville) to have an easier commute. Actually to mostly avoid driving altogether. I really enjoy the quiet little neighborhood (Germantown) that I live in now.

Just to the north is a neighborhood that I won't travel through after dark. It's a higher-crime area. I've noticed that the roads are in worse shape. I find it strange that in the same city, same tax dollars, same road crews, yet the poorer neighborhoods have crappier roads.

I've adjusted my commute to a more westerly route to avoid that neighborhood, but mostly due to the roads rather than fear of crime.

Has anyone else experienced this in another city?

people who complain to their elected officials usually get their problems solved first. nobody likes dealing with complainers.

people who complain about road conditions usually are homeowners (or business owners) whose property values are impacted by neighborhood conditions. people who rent typically don't care about property values because they don't own property.

there is a strong correlation between home ownership and household income.

you see where this is going right???

This is also the case in Dallas, with just a couple of glaring exceptions; there are several roads that cut through some of the wealthiest neighborhoods that are rough as hell and barely lit at night. I think they do this on purpose to try and keep people from wanting to use it as a cut-through.

i live in detroit- enough said

I hadn't really considered that aspect. Makes a lot of sense. My neighborhood is full of families that have owned the same homes for generations.

I think Detroit is probably a much different case. The whole city is broke, and I imagine the infrastructure is falling apart. The suburbs are different cities with their own budgets.

I used to live in Michigan. I miss the thousands of lakes. I don't miss Detroit.

Neighborhood conditions change frequently in city of Detroit, but the road infrastructure is rather stable.

And the city road infrastructure doesn't seem to be falling apart any differently than the surrounding suburbs. In the city, there's more asphalt shoving on the bus lines, but the roads see less vehicle traffic. Detroit roads are curbed, so there's less shoulder crumbling than in newer suburban communities.

Remember where the holes are, so when the wet leaves fall, & cover them,
you will go around those little surprises.

There aren't that many especially ritzy neighborhoods in Seattle, but there are a few shades of middle class, and a lot of places where you'd expect to see more crime. In general, it's the same dividing line as "most houses are owned and single-family" vs "most houses are rented, often as apartments."

From memory, I don't think there's much difference in road quality. Some of the roads near pars of MLK are in bad shape. On the other hand, some of the area near Madison Park is pretty well-to-do; the majestic trees in some yards and parks grow under some of the roadway. On average, though, I don't think there's very much difference based on neighborhood income. Again, this is from memory ... and I'll pay more attention tomorrow when I ride around the city.

One scandal here, is the light rail system that was built along MLK. The rain runs down the center of the road, and was given the right of way in all circumstances. If the train hits a pedestrian, the ped is automatically at fault. I think a few people were hit, partly due to bad design. The lights are timed so that a person can't cross the street in light cycle on foot, so you wind up having to stand in the center, and the spot where you'd be if you were trying to get to the other side of the road ( vs catch a train ) makes you a sitting duck. Whenever I cross here on a ride, I'm always glad to be faster than my feet will carry me.

Poorer often lines up with older, and neighborhood roads are the last thing fixed.

The roads in my area are about 100 years old. They probably started as dirt, then got bricked, and eventually got asphalt layed over the brick. The brick is still under there.... All these years later.

New neighborhoods have brand new cement. We get better plowing because our roads are straight. I don't believe it's a budget issue or a care issue. Really, the older neighborhoods get more budget because the roads have to be maintained. In a new subdivision the neighborhood streets are built into the cost of the homes (according to our department of roads). They'll be good for decades. Then they'll be older neighborhoods and need general tax dollars to repair their roads.

We also get revitalization money because our city isn't broken and backwards and we know that abandoning neighborhoods is not the solution.

Now if only the city taxed enough to fix the arterials....

That's not the case here in SD - developers build sh_t roads to maximize their profit and then our city has to come back 5 years later and fix them. Sad thing is, the city "leadership" is part of the development business and so the beat just goes on.

It's like that here. When I start my ride, the roads are ok, a few bumps here and there, a few potholes, but not bad. I know where all the bumps and holes are at this point, so it's not a big deal. Most of my ride is similar, but when I get to Beverly Hills and, continuing west of it, the roads are smooth like butter.