NewsNational

Actions

Annoyed Michigan resident plants large sunflower in pothole to bring attention to issue

Posted at 5:54 PM, Aug 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-21 18:10:32-04

How far would you go to get the potholes in your neighborhood noticed? 

One of the more common frustrations motorists have in the Detroit area is the feeling that some potholes are ignored until they become dangerous.

In Northville, a suburb of Detroit, there's one pothole that's tough to ignore.

Planting trees are good for the environment, and one person in Northville hoped planting the sunflower could help the roads too. Potholes are no laughing matter, but a photo of a pothole taken at an intersection is getting a lot of laughs.

"We thought it was pretty funny, pretty original," said one neighbor.

Someone planted what appeared to be a tree, which was actually a very large sunflower, inside the pothole. 

It's a pothole area resident Christy Smith has been dodging for a while.

"When I pick up my daughter from school, I can see the hole and I wondered when they were going to get it fixed, so I thought it was kinda funny to see that," Smith said.

A sign hung on the plant reads, "I’m not driving drunk, I’m dodging potholes" on one side.  

The other side reads, "Fix the Damn Roads"

Many agree with the statements, but some are concerned with the method. Wondering if growing a large plant in the middle of the road will do more harm than the pothole.

"Well... people do a lot of strange things," said Kurt Boginski. "You just hope no one ends up hitting the thing."

By Tuesday afternoon, the plant was lying by the curb and the pothole was filled with dirt. The photo is still circulating on social media and neighbors hope it's enough to get some action.

"Especially since school is starting soon and that’s a big travel street, so I hope it gets fixed soon," Smith said.

In the meantime, they appreciate the creativeness of their anonymous neighbor. It isn't often a pothole makes you smile.

"Sometimes you just got to laugh and roll with it, ya know," Smith added.