Hitting it’s third year under it’s current name, Potholepalooza should be hitting its stride in filling up those irksome potholes-come-spring across the city. But according to The Examiner, work crews during this year’s -palooza, lasting from March 21 to April 21 for a total of 24 working days, managed to fill 5,201 tire-killers — a fall off from 6,084 and 7,690 in the program’s previous two years.

The month itself started off with a promising 324 potholes the first day, but the numbers quickly tailed off on the Department of Transportation’s daily log. A few factors could account for the drop off, but my no means a failure, of the initiative’s pothole-filling goals. DDOT Interim Director Terry Bellamy suspects the relatively mild winter caused less damage, leaving the roads in better condition. On the other hand, the one-month period also included the week of hand-wringing and nail-biting from April’s near government shutdown scare, as well as a one-day furlough for city employees. Personally, I think it was a silent protest of former DDOT Director Gabe Klein’s new gig in Chicago — Klein and Fenty were the first to coin the “Potholepalooza” moniker two years ago.