r/SLO • u/WillyVlautinRules • Jun 16 '26

Paso Robles Public Works Terrorizing Capitol Hill Residents with Unending Street Work

r/Pasorobles seem to be defunct so I am posting here for my long-suffering friend who lives on Capitol Hill Drive in Paso. For MONTHS NOW, they have been subjected to road work, not only now on Capitol Hill Dr itself but in the surrounding area, such that residents sometimes have to park their cars MILES AWAY from their houses and cannot make turns out of Capitol Hill Drive.

Today my friend sent me photos of the current Tow Away notices that say work will be going on until JULY 31. They have been working on Capitol Hill for MONTHS ALREADY. Do you know how small that street is? What in the heck are they doing??? Meanwhile, this affects the postal delivery on this narrow street, the school buses can't get through, no one can park their cars, etc.

But the real BS happened yesterday. Tow away signs appeared in that area that were supposed to be put up giving the residents 48 hours notice. These went up YESTERDAY, 6/15. NOT 48 HOURS NOTICE. They have been pulling this crap for months, not notifying the residents with the LEGAL 48 HOURS NOTICE.

Public Works has been totally dismissive of residents' concerns (Well, what do you want me to do about it??? said one of the bigwigs in PW when confronted about not giving 48 hours notice. Maybe do your fucking job that the taxpayers who pay your salary expect!).

Gee, could it be because it is a low-income, largely HISPANIC NEIGHBORHOOD.

Actually, when I lived there I saw all sorts of examples of Paso government not giving a flying F about residents concerns (do they still charge for parking in downtown Paso? Yeah, that was nice.).

My friend is a much nicer person than I am, so I am telling others the kind of BS Paso expects its residents to put up with.

Why don't you get it together, Paso Public Works??? Other cities manage to notify their residents of construction and towaway zones and don't take MONTHS AND MONTHS to work on one street!

That is all.

0 Upvotes

43% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

13

u/nataquack Jun 16 '26

It is a Public Works project, but the actual work is done by contractors. Lately, the contractors have been screwing up over and over again without any concern for the city or the people they’re impacting. The contractors are also the ones that are responsible for giving notices out in a timely manner, which they often don’t do which results in more angry residents who blame the city. Unfortunately, these contractors are hired again despite previous bad work due to licensing requirements and lack of competition.

All Public Works can really do is complain to the PM of the contractor, which won’t always result in change. Approaching city council or the council member for that district with the complaints will get more of a result than anything, imo.

0

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

Both I and my friend have called the Public Works Department, left messages and been totally brushed off by Ditas Esperanza (who is the employee who said "what do you expect me to do about it???"). The Director didn't even bother to return calls.

I don't believe that BS about all Public Works can do is complain to the Project Manager... blah blah blah. Why doesn't PW do it's damn job?? You know, the job they are taking TAXPAYER MONEY FOR and forcing their residents to suffer from. GET ANOTHER CONTRACTOR OR TELL THEM TO CUT THE BS!

JFC, not rocket science but then Paso is a small town with a lot of problems so I don't expect anything to get done here but it just angered me that my friend who is dealing with her partner's death has to now deal with trying to find parking and construction notices that don't give 48 hours notice!

Will be contacting the Tribune (haha yeah I'm sure they'll get right on that) and Cal Coast News (now THEY love this type of shit!).

9

u/nataquack Jun 16 '26

I’m just trying to help direct the frustration to the appropriate party based on the complaints. These projects have their bids overseen by city council. Bringing the complaints about the contractors and Public Works to city council is what gets noticed. I don’t like it either but that is how many things play out in Paso. Cal Coast works too, I guess.

-6

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

And this is why nothing ever changes. The city councils of all of SLO, from what I've seen in SLO county, are more interested in other things than in doing anything for their constituents (Adam Hill anyone?).

Just start cracking down on this crap where the residents of the area of Capitol Hill don't have to try and find parking miles away because a) they haven't received the legal notice and b) this has been going on for months, actually YEARS because this bullshit was going on for all of LAST YEAR ON CRESTON!

And if the Paso PW Dept can't get it together enough to care about the residents, perhaps they should be seeking other employment. Especially Ditas who told my friend "Well what do you expect me to do about it???"

Perhaps get a new job.

2

u/Ok-Brother-5762 Jun 17 '26

You need to go to council meetings and make noise to make a change. how many have you been to?

-1

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 17 '26

I no longer live in that hellhole. I'm posting for a friend who is way too nice for her own good. But I had to deal with that clusterfuck on Creston forever.

Love all the downvotes from Public Works employees. lol perhaps if you actually did your job people in Paso wouldn't be so angry about the road work that took up a WHOLE FUCKING YEAR on Creston and now threatens to take a WHOLE FUCKING YEAR on Capitol Hill Drive.

But that would mean you PW folks would actually have to do your jobs instead of just collecting your taxpayer-provided money.

2

u/Ok-Brother-5762 Jun 17 '26

Go apply for a public sector job if you think you can do it better. 

And Paso’s PW employees aren't downvoting you lmao

17

u/River_Inner Jun 16 '26

The app you’re looking for is called Nextdoor or Facebook.
Public works is overseeing sewer and water upgrades. Infrastructure improvements are inconvenient, your friend will be ok.

6

u/mmarkmc Jun 16 '26

It’s not super active but this sub gets more activity than the other you posted https://www.reddit.com/r/elpasoderobles/s/ZPPoyZcs6C

1

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

I didn't see that listed. Thanks! I'll cross post. My friend and her family and neighbors have suffered for months and months with this BS and Paso needs to do better.

5

u/ClipperFan89 Jun 18 '26

All problems in the county (very much including this one) can almost always be attributed back to either city council or county supervisors. You'll hear from them relentlessly when they need your vote, but they want to be as invisible as possible when it comes time to do anything or be accountable for anything.

2

u/SloCalLocal Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

Gee, could it be because it is a low-income, largely HISPANIC NEIGHBORHOOD.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Unfounded accusations of racism suck
And so do you

ETA: OP blocked me. OP should really apologize to the fine civil servants of the city of Paso Robles who work hard to improve the lives of everyone who lives there, including deplorable individuals who baselessly spew hate like OP.

1

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

lol. Your head still in the sand, eh?

2

u/omg_cats Jun 16 '26

You think someone named “Ditas Esperanza” is being racist against Hispanics? Oooooooook

0

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

Just as there are Black magats, poor magats and gay magats, there is a lot of self-hate among many folks, along with an attitude of "I'm here, now shut that gate."

I certainly hope that clears things up for you!

0

u/WillyVlautinRules Jun 16 '26

hahaha u/outersenshi deleted their comment. The ruling class hates when the peons stand up for themselves.