The parking lot next to the rock in Morro Bay has potholes that are causing a bit of a bumpy ride for those in the community.
It's an issue that's been ongoing for years but is made worse when it rains.
“Sometimes they just catch you off guard,” said Andrew Jones, San Luis Obispo resident.
Andrew Jones has been surfing in Morro Bay all his life and drives through the parking lot multiple times a week. “Driving through here, especially lately after the rains, and the traffic as well; very bumpy and bottoms out the car at times,” Jones said.
The Morro Bay Public Works Department says due to the parking lot being unpaved, ongoing maintenance issues, especially after rain, are common.
According to public works, there are currently no plans to pave the parking lot as the City Council intends to keep the area as natural as possible. “Definitely doesn’t need to be paved, it just puts more oil and stuff in the water, but just a little scrape, come out and resurface it a little more often especially after the rains,” Jones said.
Public works crews have been making repairs to the lot all winter long, even as recently as last week where they focused on the bigger potholes. “People are always trying to drive around the potholes and finding the one path through the potholes,” said Alex DiGrazia of Atascadero.
Alex DiGrazia surfs in Morro Bay on a monthly basis and is used to the unsmooth drive but worries about what it could do to his car. “It can’t be good for car suspension, especially if you have a low car, you could easily bottom out,” DiGrazia said.
According to the City, the process to fix the potholes includes laying down red rock material and rolling it over with a compactor. The cost to fix the potholes a few months ago in the parking lot was approximately $7,000, according to the city.
The city’s maintenance division manager says they are planning to do more work on the parking lot prior to the Ironman event in May.
