Butler's Streets Department should evaluate the condition of as many city streets as possible during the coming week. The potholes that are showing up are more reminiscent of end-of-winter conditions, rather than what conditions should be in late fall.

Terrible conditions are in store for city motorists if city officials continue to ignore this problem that has been evolving for weeks.

If the city can afford to pay three city workers to ride around in a Public Works Department truck carrying a few garbage cans, a common sight, it would seem that manpower is available for checking the condition of streets, so pre-winter patching can take place wherever it is needed.

That checkup also should involve streets that have been resurfaced over the past two years. That asphalt should be checked for cracks that, if left unrepaired, could lead to premature deterioration of the road surface during freeze-thaw weather cycles.

Some of the worst streets pose special problems because years' worth of patching was done instead of resurfacing. Some of these streets have patches that have patches. There are obvious targets for fall repair, such as Broad Street in front of Broad Street Elementary School and Mercer Street, only a couple of blocks away.

And, a jagged pothole that has existed on Wagner Avenue near Jefferson Street for almost a month — and that has continued to get bigger — is worthy of the following question to city officials, especially to Councilman Mitch Ufner, who heads the Streets Department:

How big does a problem have to become before it is resolved?

And, the checkup shouldn't ignore less-traveled streets such as West Fulton Street, which also has serious pothole issues.

If city council action is needed for Streets Department supervisor Ralph Graham to mobilize a crew to get an aggressive pre-winter pothole-repair effort under way, then he ought to pursue it. City police can play a role by calling attention to the city streets most in need of repairs. But city officials must surely know where the need is greatest.

Meanwhile, city residents and business owners have some responsibility in the matter also. When they see problems developing, they ought to call attention to them by calling city officials. The City Building telephone number is 724-285-4124.

The city's streets problems are not new; they have not been confined to the current city leaders. Rather, many of the streets provide a picture of decades of neglect.

Neither city taxpayers nor people who work here should have to risk damage or destruction to tires or wheels — or damage to wheel alignments and suspension systems.

Street conditions are a reflection on the city, and streets in poor condition suggest a city in decline — and acceptance of that decline.

Though it is widely understood that the city has limited financial resources available for street resurfacing and maintenance, the streets should not have been allowed to deteriorate for so long. The city deserves credit for making some progress over the past couple of years in the resurfacing of entire streets. And, it is true that it will take many years to address all of the street problems.

However, the pothole problem that has developed in recent weeks should have been addressed, especially with the prolonged milder weather this fall.

A quick assessment of the situation needs to be made so, as breaks in inclement weather allow, city workers will be ready to attack the problems.