Shoddy Streets Lead to Car Repairs and Higher Risk of Accidents, Aggravating São Paulo Drivers

02/03/2017 - 15h06

"There are bumps all over the place. You just go from one to the next", said Miguel de Almeida, 65. "My car is falling apart. I've had to change my tires, rims and muffler", said Renan dos Santos Oliveira, 26.

Remarks like these strike a chord with São Paulo residents. In the midst of summer downpours, one can't help but notice how pervasive the city's bumpy streets are.

Folha passed through several neighborhoods, noticing an all-too-common pattern: bumpy stretches of road all over. The issue became particularly pronounced during the end of the mayoralty of Fernando Haddad (Workers' Party ) and has seeped into the administration of João Doria (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) - whose platforms include a city-wide maintenance project called "Cidade Linda", or "Beautiful City".

The shoddy state that São Paulo streets are in has worsened traffic, increased the risk of accidents all while permanently damaging auto parts.

Among the particularly precarious stretches, a couple stand out. A huge dent at the intersection between Rua dos Trilhos and Visconde de Laguna, in the Mooca neighborhood (in the city's eastern region). Just before reaching the traffic light, buses are redirected to a different lane.

At the intersection between Rua Ana Cintra and São João Avenue, in downtown São Paulo, a huge hole in the ground swallowed up a traffic cone. "Cones will get swept off their feet when it rains hard", said Henrique Armando, 54, a parking lot administrator.

The hole puts both pedestrians and drivers in danger, as there are no warnings of any kind and the hole is hidden under a stream of water.

In 2016, considerably fewer repairs took place. Average monthly repairs dropped from 35.6 thousand in 2013, to 16.6 thousand in 2016, which, in turn, led to an increase in complaints regarding driving conditions.

Between January and September of 2016, complaints went up by 39.6% when compared to the same period in 2015.

	Danilo Verpa/Folhapress
	The shoddy state São Paulo's streets are in has worsened traffic, increased the risk of accidents all while permanently damaging auto parts

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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