That's what Salt Lake City officials learned recently after they thought they could save taxpayers a bundle by repaving some streets around the outlying industrial areas of the city with nothing more than tar and gravel.
But for three months now, drivers who live and work in the area of 2200 West to Redwood Road between North Temple and 1000 North have experienced rock chips on their windshields and car bodies, and an endless bombardment of loose gravel crashing into their cars' undercarriages.
The "chip seal" method was a way to repave the streets at one-tenth the cost of traditional paving, said Sam Guevara, Mayor Rocky Anderson's chief of staff.
The gravel is placed over the worn road and covered with tar. After it is swept over several times with a large machine, the gravel and tar form a solid and smooth covering on the road.
At least, that's what was supposed to happen.
After several complaints that the gravel still keeps spitting up, Guevara drove the area himself last week and now agrees that something else needs to be done - savings or no savings.
Out in the cold: Utahns joined the rest of the country in generously contributing goods and money and volunteering services to aid Hurricane Katrina victims and those devastated by other natural disasters around the globe this year.
But closer to home, about 30 Utahns with mental and developmental disabilities might get no Christmas this year because donations are falling short.
Salt Lake Advocacy and Community Training (ACT) provides housing, work training and other essential services for people with disabilities who are on the state's waiting list for government help.
It also provides Christmas for those who otherwise wouldn't have one each year.
But for the first time since ACT's inception in 1982, it doesn't have enough money to give the $100 worth of Christmas presents to all 170 people who need them.
ACT director Cynthia Proctor says the agency, which receives funds from the United Way, some grants and private donations, is short about $3,000 to meet its Christmas goal, which means that 30 people on the list might go without.
Some in the nonprofit community believe contributions are down because people already have given so much this year due to the disasters. The demand, also, is constantly growing.
The state Department of Human Services serves 4,304 developmentally disabled people in the community, with 230 living in the state's developmental center. But there still are 1,945 on the waiting list for services.
To help ACT, you can contact Proctor at 412-3798, or fax her at 493-0111.
prolly@sltrib.com
