Despite Metro's Claims of Broken Paving Equipment, Germantown Alleys Reportedly Paved Recently

A neighbor sent me an e-mail during the weekend saying that the same Metro Public Works crew that last week put down a mixed gravel surface on unpaved Salemtown alleys told her that they had paved Germantown alleys within the past two weeks. The alleys (pictured to the left) run from Jefferson St. to Van Buren St. and they lie between 3rd and 4th Avs. The news of this recent paving was confirmed by an employee of one of the businesses that stretch out along 3rd Av. just north of Jefferson St.

I continue to await a response to my questions--originally posed in an e-mail last Friday--from Metro Paving Manager Don Reid. When he does eventually get back to me, I also intend to ask him:

• If Metro truly has had broken paving equipment since 2006, then how do Germantown alleys get paved in the last two weeks?
• Was the previous condition of the Germantown alleys at least as bad as the unpaved Salemtown alleys (were there huge pot holes, blowing dust, and post-storm mud-hole conditions)?
• Why is Germantown more deserving of paved alleys than Salemtown?

UPDATE: I spoke with Metro Paving Manager Don Reid by phone. Mr. Reid told me that he "has no idea" why the Germantown alleys were paved in the last two weeks, and that I would need to talk to Paving Scheduler Tim Young to find out when Salemtown's alleys are to be paved. Did I just get the bureaucratic bounce? We shall see.

UPDATE II: Paving tune change after the jump.